Ripples in the Space Between
by Mardahin
Summary: Atlantis through an unconventional series of perspectives, from an incoming physician to the eventual children who grow up there. Spanning close to 20 years, the series delves into the issues of Atlantis vs. Earth. Caveats in Chapter 1, AU as of Allies.
1. Letters to a John Doe

**General Caveats for the Series**: _Ripples_ contains heterosexual relationships (Weir/Zelenka, Beckett/Cadman, OCs), homosexual relationships (McKay/Sheppard, Lorne/Parrish, OCs), male pregnancy, children, and a plethora of original characters. If any of these are highly distasteful to you, I suggest you wander along. If I haven't scared you off, I hope you enjoy the series. It is, I have been told, far better than the sum of its parts.

**_Ripples In the Space Between_**

**I. Letters to a John Doe (a diary of sorts)**

* * *

Bundle 1: Transmission Date 31 May, 2007

* * *

**May 13, Rural India.**  
Dear John, 

I quit Medicins Sans Frontiers. It was bound to happen sometime, but now that it has I'm not sure what to do with myself. At least I can say I went out with a bang: I broke Dr. Givre's nose. Smug bastard. Do you know? He had the nerve to tell me that the funds had been reassigned due to concerns over 'regional instability'. Translation: He fucked up his creative accounting and needs to cover it. It's hardly the first time, but I just can't deal with it anymore. Let someone younger do it. I want to make a difference, but I want some kind of consistancy. Even if it's a low budget, I want a **stable** budget.

Well, that's not going to be a problem at this point. After this, I'll be lucky if I can get a job with any of the major organizations. I've got a little saved up, think I'll visit Hannah for a week or two. I haven't seen her since she got married. I need to figure out where I'm going to go from here. Wish me luck!

_ Laura_  
- - -  
**May 27, Suburbs outside of San Francisco, CA.**  
Dear John,

Well, I'm back in the states. San Francisco is exactly as I remember it, expensive as hell. Hannah's been wonderful, and her husband isn't too bad. I feel like I'm taking advantage of their hospitality, though. I've been here almost two weeks. While they haven't said anything, I know I must be a bother.

But I'm having trouble figuring out where to go from here. If I even want to think about going into private practice I'd need to sign my life away in order to pay the malpractice, never mind start up costs. And it's not like 'rural instruction specialty' is in high demand in an urban OB. I can make base pay if I sign on with a hospital, but that's barely enough to pay my malpractice. Where do they think us OB's get this kind of cash, do I have to marry a lawyer? I know I was out of the country for ten years, but it couldn't have been this bad before I left.

But that's not why I'm writing, not really. I have another alternative, one that appeared on Hannah's doorstep this morning. I haven't dealt with a man in uniform, at least in a positive light, since I finished my ROTC time. It paid for college, and when it was done I never looked back. Until today, when an Air Force officer showed up with words like "Job Offer" and "Interested in your specific background". My eyes about bugged out, and I found myself agreeing to go up to Colorado for an interview. Because it's a job. Doing rural midwifery instruction. And I'd be civilian contracting, so there's no risk of reactivation.

After a couple weeks of cooling my heels here at Hannah's, anything sounds good. I hope it works out.

_ Laura_  
- - -  
**May 30, Cheyenne Mountain AFB**  
Dear John,

It's a good thing you're not real, because I'd never be able to send this. I've taken the job that I wrote about last time. It's not quite what I was expecting. I'll be working out of a base and doing day and week trips for teaching purposes. Good food and hot showers! I'll be the only OB/GYN on base, but that's hardly surprising. Apparently the CMO specifically requested someone with my background.

There is one complication, one which I couldn't believe at first, and still hasn't really sunk in. The base? Is in another galaxy. _GALAXY._ I'm shipping out tomorrow for Atlantis (_Atlantis!_ I won't believe it until I see it. I'm reasonably sure this is a code name of some sort) for a two year assignment. It's a 20 day trip on a spaceship. Thank God I'm not claustrophobic.

Exciting as all this sounds, the man who explained the position was insistant on pointing out the drawbacks. Said fair warning was the least he could do. He said there's some kind of a war going on, evil life-sucking aliens vs. humans.

Personally, I think he's exaggerating so that whatever's really there doesn't freak me out. It's not like I've never worked in a combat zone before. It means that the civilian populations are going to need more help, not less.

Another galaxy!

_ Laura_

* * *

Bundle 2: Transmission Date 30 June, 2007

* * *

**June 13, _Daedalus_ enroute to Atlantis**  
Dear John, 

The excitement? Lasted the first few days. Now I just want off. Because twenty days in a tin can, even a nicely **appointed** tin can, is too long. I hadn't realized how much I'd gotten used to spending most of my time outdoors. We've been travelling for 14 days, another six to go.

I've met a few of the personnel being assigned out there with me. All of the scientists seem to be research oriented, most of them coming from Stargate Command at Cheyenne Mountain. I think there are something like 14 countries represented. A lot of Chinese. The rest of the passengers are mostly Marines, with a few Air Force mixed in.

Nice bunch, on the whole. Although from what one of those returning from leave said, the first time they went to Atlantis it took about 3 seconds since they used a Stargate. So not fair.

Six. More. Days.

_ Laura_

- - -  
**June 20, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy.**  
Dear John,

I'm off the ship.

Thank god.

- - -  
**June 21, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear John,

The city is beautiful. It really is floating on the ocean, although apparently there's a mainland the size of North America somewhere. We didn't pass it. I can't get over how clean the air smells. It smells reminiscent of the Cape, all sea salt and crisp sharpness with a hint of something green. I hope we don't get fish kills. The odor of thousands of dead fish is not something to be borne. In any galaxy. I also hope our main protein isn't seaweed, for that matter. There's only so many months of that you can take without a break.

It's been a whirlwind since I arrived, getting settled. I've been assigned quarters and clothing. I've had 3 different welcoming speeches. Dr. Weir, the civilian in charge of the city, gave the general welcome. She seems like a nice lady, but I'm reserving judgement until I've seen what kind of priorities she has. Colonel Sheppard, our local Ranking Military Officer, went through about three iterations of "Don't go wandering off on your own!!" and "I don't care what your background is, you will get weapons training."

Dr. Beckett, my new boss, split his time evenly between standard "new environment, new allergens and diseases, come in by the end of the week for vaccination" and what seemed to be a seriously overblown "If you go off-world, practice safe sex. I don't care who you're sleeping with." I wonder what kind of STDs they've picked up out here, to incite that. Because we had the most thorough physicals I've ever seen before being allowed on the _Daedalus_.

The new incoming medical staff also had a follow up meeting with Dr. Beckett. Apparently they want to use my skill set as a trade item, offering my services training local midwives in exchange for foodstuff and technology. When I'm not in the field, I get to bone up on my trauma and general practice skills. Even with me there are only 6 doctors on staff, and we have to cover a full shift rotation. I start tomorrow, guided tour of the infirmary and then dealing with storage and inventory of my supplies. I hope to God we've got latex free gloves.

_ Laura_  
- - -  
**June 30, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear John,

I head off-world for the first time tomorrow. I'm going to be conducting clinics for three villages on topics like The Basic Cesarean, as well as distributing OB kits and offering general advice. Ginyar is supposed to be about on par with 1700's Europe, and apparently they've traded with Atlantis in the past so it's considered a low risk mission. Which means one military per civilian. I wonder what that says about conditions out here. I've been hearing bits and pieces from the nurses about these "Wraith". It's possible they weren't exaggerating back on Earth. I'll have to track down the story-telling marine from lunch and see if the local equivalent of garlic works on them. Or anything else, for that matter.

_ Laura_

* * *

Bundle 3: Transmission Date 31 July, 2007

* * *

**July 9, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear John, 

It's nice to be back. I spent the last few days on a semi-industrialized world, doing an information exchange. These people have the damnedest gaps in their data. I mean, they have electricity, but still believe that bleeding a sick man will cure him. Now, I know leeches can be successfully used to treat contusions. _This_ was just archaic.

It seems that the knowledge they've managed to preserve over the years has been limited and specialized. I guess medical care isn't a top priority when your population likely won't live past an average of forty. What a horrid way to live.  
_ Laura_

- - -  
**July 15, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear John,

Yesterday I saw my first 'local' patients for concerns relating to my specialty. There are two pregnancies among the Athosian women on the mainland. Both are progressing normally, one at just past twenty-four weeks and the other at fourteen weeks. In addition, there's a marine who learned the hard way that something in the local produce binds to Depo-Provera. She's at around eighteen weeks, and healthy as well.

It's a shame about the Depo. We've got cases of the stuff. Testing concluded that the troublesome interaction is a chemical in the grain that the Athosians grow on the mainland. We can't stop using a primary grain over so minor a reason, even with the _Daedalus_ supplies aren't that flush. Carson's stringent warning about protection makes a lot more sense now.

I had another visitor who was an absolute joy. One of the drawbacks in being an OB is that you follow the mother until birth. You never get to follow up with the baby. One of the benefits of working in such rural settings in the past is that I did have the chance to follow up with the newborns. When you're the only Western doctor in a thirty mile radius, people bring you their babies.

Today I got to meet the little girl I've seen glimpses of in the mess. Her name is Sarah McKay, and she's the most precocious six month old I've ever met. She was brought in by Col. Sheppard for her six month check. Apparently her father became side tracked in the labs by something of great import. She seems to be the city's sweetheart at the moment. I had two different nurses stop in to 'ask if I needed any help.' And play with the baby. Why can't they be found when we get an outbreak of hives?

There is one odd thing about little Sarah, though. There's no mother listed in her file. Not "Mother Unknown". It's just not there. An unknown father? Happens. Rather frequently, in some regions. But it's not like you don't know who the child came out of. It's why old civilizations used to pass leadership to the 'sister-son'. Provable genetics, even if they didn't call it that. Little Sarah certainly has her father's pout, and her intelligence is evident in her eyes so paternity's not in question(I saw Dr. McKay last week for lab related burns; God only knows what he was doing to get them. Dr. Zelenka lost an eyebrow!).

I asked Carson about the missing information. He told me it was too long a story for a busy day and hurried off to his research. We'd had four patients in five hours. I'm most definitely intrigued. I'll have to pull McKay's file at some point and have a closer look.  
_ Laura_

* * *

**July 1, Suburb of Calgary, AB**  
Dear Doctor, 

I found your letters behind the bag of kitty litter in the bathroom cabinet. This is the second time I've found them in exactly the same location, so I'm ruling out coincidence. I'm putting this response in the same location. If whatever's causing your letters to end up here works two ways, hopefully you'll receive this and know that you're not alone. Someone's listening.

I admire you for punching your boss. I can't tell you how close I've come to taking out one of the lawyers at work in the last couple months over our latest case. First Nations' land exploitation just upsets me. And then someone will start in about how we shouldn't be taking on pro bono cases and I just. Urr! Unlike you, though, I don't think I'd ever get up the courage to jeopardize my job. I have a husband for financial stability, but I'd go nuts sitting around the house all the time. And I'd have a hell of a time getting another paralegal position if I piss off one of the biggest energy firms in Calgary.

I've already told you a bit about myself. What else would you like to know? It seems only fair since I know so much about you. Even if you never intended it.

I have two cats, and a husband. He's an engineer out on the oil fields, only home on the weekends. It gets lonely by myself. I guess that's why I decided to write back, aside from the obvious. I realize that you never intended anyone to read your letters. In the beginning I was curious. We've only had the house a year, and we still find remnants of the former owners in strange places on occasion. By the time I fully comprehended what I was reading, the damage was done. You needn't fear that I will tell anyone what I've read, I understand about confidentiality. You seem to lead an incredibly exciting life, even if only half of what you've written is true. I mean _MSF!_ and _Intergalactic Travel!_

My husband would be in heaven. He's terribly fond of science fiction. We have every episode of **Wormhole X-Treme** and **Star Trek** on video. Me? I never got into it. Never really saw the point.

If you receive this, please let me know if you wish me to simply destroy your letters. I will understand, seeing as they are so personal.  
Sincerely,  
_ Jane Cummings_

* * *

Bundle 4: Transmission Date 31 August, 2007

* * *

**August 2, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear Jane, 

I don't know exactly how I feel about someone reading my Dear John letters. They started, years ago, as a way of pretending I wasn't so alone when I was working in a region where no one but the translator spoke my language fluently. Over the years it became a diary of sorts, somewhere to vent that never saw the light of day. At the end of every month I would burn the entries in a fire, putting the month's troubles behind me. I'd been putting the letters in what I thought was a trash disposal these last few months. I didn't realize they were being sent anywhere, much less Earth.

I greatly appreciate the assurances that this will stay confidential. Law is the only other discipline that really understands the need for privacy. Well, and the military, but I digress. As to whether you should continue to read, I leave that up to you. It honestly is a comfort, knowing someone back home is concerned whether I live or die. Someone with even a basic grasp of where I really am. My cousin doesn't know anything, aside from that I'm working for the US Air Force.

Listen, this is going to sound morbid, and I'm asking a lot of someone who's never met me. But... Even if you're not reading the letters. If it gets to be more than a few months and nothing's appeared, could you contact my cousin for me? Say you knew me through work or something. Just so I know she'll be told. Because knowing the government, they'll tell my parents. And they couldn't care less. Her address is on the back of this letter. My thanks, if it ever comes to that.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**August 6, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear Jane,

I don't think this was in my job description. I really don't.

In fact, I'm rather sure it wasn't.

Over the last week, we've had marines coming in left and right with some GI bug they picked up off world. That? I can deal with. Nothing a well placed bucket or two and some antibiotics can't fix. Then I get Dr. Parrish in, same symptoms. Only when I ask how long he was on P7X-795 he looks blank.

He. Never. Went.

It turns out the last time he was off world was almost two months ago. He's been letting the new botanist get used to off-world missions since his team leader was grounded with a shoulder injury. I pull some blood, hoping like hell this thing wasn't airborne, and nothing! No sign of the bacteria causing the marines so much misery.

I talked to Carson, given that this isn't exactly my area of expertise. We ran a broad spectrum toxicology. The results? There are three abnormal chemicals in Dr. Parrish's blood. One of them is Beta HCG. Yes. According to the blood test, Dr. Parrish is pregnant. I start in on how it's impossible, when I notice Carson isn't exclaiming along with me.

Carson's looking like he just bit into something unpleasant. We're talking strange delicacies from rural Africa unpleasant. (**Have you ever had raw monkey brains? Don't.**) When I asked what was wrong, he dragged me into his office and said, "How do you feel about don't ask, don't tell?" I pointed out that it didn't apply to me, I was civilian and he relaxed. A little.

He then launched into the most incredible story involving the parentage of Sarah McKay. It involves strange alien ceremonies, drugged blue wine, and about six months down the line a seriously pissed off scientist. Which explains a lot of things, now that I've had a chance to think about it. At the time? I started stuttering about how it was a little late to play 'tease the new doc'. Carson was quite patient with me, all things considered.

After all was said and done, Carson patted me on the shoulder, wished me luck, and pointed me to Dr. Parrish's exam area to deliver the good news. Well, that and interrogate the hell out of him so it doesn't happen again. Because his file indicated no strange technology interactions in the last six months. Not even any truly strange welcoming ceremonies. Just an infected plant bite (Major Lorne, Parrish's team leader, had described the perpetrator as a venus flytrap on steroids in his report) and a sprained ankle.

I explained his options, but cautioned that it's a bit too late for chemical abortion and that given the unknown nature of how he became pregnant there's concern about his health. It'll be an invasive surgery should he wish to terminate at this point.

According to the scans we were able to perform with Ancient technology, everything seems to be developing normally. That's something else I haven't mentioned before. The technology in the city is keyed to the presence of a specific gene. I didn't have it (surprise, surprise. The only thing my genetics have ever been good for is a clear complexion), but Carson injected me with a therapy a few weeks after I arrived and it took. This makes me one of the lucky ones, since apparently it fails in over half the recipients. Having the gene has made things so much easier. It allows me to use diagnostic equipment that's so much better than anything I'm used to. The blood pressure monitor _alone_ is a thing of beauty.

I think poor Dr. Parrish spent the second half of his visit in shock. When I asked if he had any idea who the other parent was, he turned red and mumbled something I couldn't catch. Turns out the likely 'father' (Dr. Parrish wouldn't give me a name, but I managed to gather it's a he.) is on leave courtesy of the _Daedalus_. He's due back in a few days. I told Dr. Parrish to come back once they've had a chance to discuss things.

So I've come back to my quarters, to try to make it make sense. Because it just **doesn't.**  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**August 10, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

Apparently my life is destined to continue getting stranger. Today I met with Dr. Parrish and an uncomfortable USAF officer in Carson's office. They're keeping the baby. I've restricted Dr. Parrish to the planet until I can find information on how gate travel effects fetal development, if it exists. Major Lorne will begin making the necessary arrangements (Yes, the team leader I mentioned before is the 'father'. What is it with sleeping with your ranking military officer on these teams?). I'll be meeting with Dr.'s Weir & McKay to discuss the situation in the next few days. Col. Sheppard is their problem.

I came to the conclusion that I will view this as a case study and hope it proceeds smoothly. This took several hours and two slices of chocolate cake to accomplish (_Daedalus_ was in a few days ago. I'm told the chocolate won't last.). Because the only case study I have for background is McKay's. And his case was far from normal, even excepting that he's male.

From Carson's reports, I've concluded it's a miracle the McKay baby was born fully human. Between the amounts of caffeine Dr. McKay regularly ingests (Given the pregnancy was discovered in its sixth month, Carson didn't bother attempting to control intake at that point), the stimulants administered during the city-wide crisis at the four month mark, and the wraith enzyme he was injected with on two separate occasions in the week before the discovery of his 'condition'... Sarah's apparent normalcy is just incredible. And also nothing to base further cases upon.

I hope this little one is as lucky. Because I have not a clue how any of this is going to proceed, or even if Dr. Parrish will carry to term. This is way outside my realm of experience. I hate research.  
_ Laura_

* * *

**August 3, Suburb outside Calgary, AB**  
Dear Doctor, 

I hadn't thought about the time lag when I wrote before. It will make correspondence rather strange, all of our responses being one month behind. Well, that is if you wish to correspond. You may very well inform me with your next letter that I'm to destroy everything that comes through. In which case I will.

It was a slow day at work today. The city's finally gotten itself calmed down again from the insanity that is _Stampede_. Barring interesting news at work, I thought I'd give you a general update on what's going on in the news.

Our Prime Minister has changed since you left. We now have a liberal majority again. The attempted over-turning of the Gay Marriage Law failed. The government's approved another forced acquiescence from the First Nations on a new oil field. The Middle East is as turbulent as it always is.

Did you follow anything on television? Anything I can keep you updated on? My husband has been ecstatic the last few weeks over news that a spinoff to **Wormhole X-Treme** is coming out in October. Do you like science fiction? **Law & Order**, my one guilty pleasure, is promising to be an interesting season.

My cats, Bruce and Thomassina, have not decided what to make of this whole business with the litter cabinet. They look at me strangely when I go rooting around for the next batch. Well, more strangely than normal at least. They always think I'm a bit odd. I think it's because I'm not a cat. They tolerate me, and curl up on my lap when I do CLE entry from home, so I guess that's something.  
_ Jane Cummings_

* * *

Bundle 5: Transmission Date 30 September, 2007

* * *

**September 9, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear Jane, 

It still feels strange, knowing that someone is reading these. But as you said, the damage has been done. And it's nice to talk with someone uninvolved with everything here. Atlantis is a massive city, towers of glass and metal, but the population here is small. You say something to a scientist who swears on their latest research to keep it secret. Two days later you're hearing it again from one of the marines. Privacy is a totally foreign concept. That, if nothing else, is actually reminiscent of other places I've worked.

I thank you for the offer about the TV shows. Unfortunately after a number of years working places that don't have TV, you grow accustomed to not watching it. I don't know what's on anymore. Even after spending that week doing next to nothing at Hannah's, I can't recall anything memorable. Do I like Sci-Fi? Surprisingly, not all that much. I mean I enjoyed **Star Wars** and all, but it doesn't call to me the same way historical drama and documentaries do. I prefer mythology, not techno-geek, if that makes sense. A lot of the scientists here are big on techno-geek. So is the Colonel, for that matter.

I overheard him explaining to Sarah how hyperspace works, throwing in **Babylon 5** references left and right(I'd say she's too young to understand any of it, but then she's not exactly the bastion of normalcy. With her background, she might begin spouting wormhole physics at age three.). Then McKay arrived and they got into a debate on which fictional travel technology works best. Strange, strange people. Of course, we're in another galaxy. Strange might be a survival requirement or something. Which makes me wonder what makes me strange, or if I'm going to hit my expiration date in the next year for being too normal.  
Laura  
- - -  
**September 24, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear Jane,

The good news is that I've finally started making friends. As opposed to professional colleagues. The first few months were mostly spent getting settled, getting used to a city that humms even when it's at rest, becoming used to stargate travel. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but you know how we use the Stargate to go to other worlds? The first few trips? Not so fun. I mean, you're just overcome with awe at the concept of going to other _planets_(I still haven't gotten anyone to explain how they actually **work**, I just know they do.). You don't stop to record the fact that the travel itself leaves you nauseous and weak and dizzy. It gets better the more you do it, I'm told. The veterans who've been here since the beginning don't feel a thing anymore.

On top of the normal settling in, there was Dr. Parrish getting pregnant to deal with. Poor David (Dr. Parrish). At least the morning sickness has worn off. I've never seen a man look that green for that long without having jaundice (I know, jaundice is yellow. But it's the same strength of color.). It led to some rather unfortunate jokes about botanists. But. They _were_ funny.

The problem is, when you're up to your eyeballs in genetic testing and text books you never thought you'd be reading again (I don't care if they're on the computer. They're still text books.), making friends just takes too much time. David has been looking more healthy these last few weeks, which has given us all a bit of space to take a deep breath.

I've mentioned I got the gene therapy, right? All of us with the gene, synthetic or not, get mandatory pilot training on 'Puddle Jumpers'. They're kind of like shuttle craft from _Star Trek_, only they don't work unless you have the magic gene. We use them for travelling through the gate, and flying to the mainland. Apparently, this works in my favour, socially. This one geologist, Jason Wright, likes to spend as much time on the mainland as possible. From what Carson said, he bugs anyone with the gene to see if he can scam rides. I can understand why, it's not like there's much for a geologist to do in a city floating in the middle of the ocean. Once I mentioned that I'd be willing to take him along when I do weekly checks on my Athosian patients, I started finding things in my office. A chocolate powerbar (We'd been out of them for _weeks_.), a can of Pepsi (I didn't know we even had any out here), an Athosian night-blooming flower.

I have little doubt where they're coming from. I think Jason's just so ecstatic to have someone willing to bring him out there regularly that he's bending over backwards to be nice. The first time he came along, he lost track of time while out collecting samples. We ended up spending the night at the Athosian settlement. Since then it's become habit. Well, as much habit as can be formed in three trips.

I don't mind the nights on the mainland. It's nice having time away from the city without worrying that some local faction is going to decide isolationism is the best thing for their people and try to kill the foreigner devils in their sleep (That hasn't happened to me yet, but I've heard stories.). The Athosians are friendly, and more than happy to put us up in exchange for help with whatever project they're working on at the moment.

Jason himself isn't bad either. He's polite, considerate, and totally obsessed with his work. Pretty much what you get from any of the scientists here. He has some interesting theories on why there's only one continent. He also has a minor in mythology. This means he's more than willing to spend the evenings on the mainland around the central fire, exchanging legends with our hosts. Jason and a few of the Athosian elders will go back and forth, taking turns telling tales. **The Legend of the Runner**(Athosian) for **The Death of Osiris**(Egyptian), for example. Jason has a gift for story telling, and the Athosians have an oral history, so it's a nice way to spend the evening.

Laura

* * *

**September 17, Suburbs of Calgary,AB**  
Dear Doctor, 

Of course I wouldn't mind alerting your cousin, though I'm sure it would be a bit awkward. It's the least I can do. However, I am going to hope that it never becomes necessary.

I'm not sure what to say with regards to your other news. It's like something out of science fiction! Although when I think about it, much of your experience these last few months rings of more science fiction than fact. Not that I disbelieve you, more that it's just so incredible. This takes the cake, though. Pregnant _men??_ How does that even work? Did they grow new organs or something? It boggles the mind. And I only have to read about it, you have to deal with it. I can understand why they were so quick to request a specialist. You poor thing. At least I only have to deal with lawyers who can't remember when their CLE hours come due.

I agree that chocolate cake does make everything better, it's a shame that you say it won't last long. I can't imagine not having regular access to chocolate. But from what you've written, I can only assume that the tradeoff is worth it.  
_ Jane_

* * *

Bundle 6: Transmission Date 31 October, 2007

* * *

**October 3, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear Jane, 

First and foremost, thank you for agreeing to alert Hannah if should I stop writing. It takes a great weight off my mind. You mentioned CLE hours, are those like CME (Continuing Medical Education)?

Things have settled into a routine out here, finally. For real this time, as opposed to the false lull before David's pregnancy was diagnosed. Still haven't found anything for or against gate travel during pregnancy. I'm going to lean towards the idea that if a gate can reassemble clothing and a human body and _space ships_, it can handle a slightly more complex human body for reassembly. Now, the short term side effects could very well be highly unpleasant. But I can't see any reason for long term repercussions. Not that any of my current cases are likely to be gating off regularly.

This city is our best hope for victory in the war we're fighting out here. It's also the safest place to be since we've got the ability to raise the city's shield if necessary. That doesn't mean it's indestructible. Apparently they almost lost the city during bombardment a few years back. If it weren't for the unusual nature of David's pregnancy I'm sure he'd have been shipped home when it was first discovered. That Lt. Cadman didn't go back to Earth still puzzles me. I know that the father must be an expedition member, but it must be a serious relationship for her to be willing to risk the added danger to both herself and her child. It seems maternity leave in general here is a bit unorthodox. Dr. McKay being the first case of it probably threw the regs through the window and into the waves. Colonel Sheppard certainly can't assign anyone forced Earth Leave without looking painfully hypocritical. And he gives every indication of being an honourable man.  
_ Laura_  
- - - **October 7, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**  
Dear Jane,

Wonderful news! One of the biologists, Elaine Kirnov, has come up with a theory explaining our pregnant men. In reviewing the readings from the last planet visited by Team B (Major Lorne's team) prior to David's diagnosis, she's found an energy wave that swept through the region roughly half an hour after they landed. She theorizes that it was triggered by the presence of the ATA gene, but that's as far as she's gotten. One thing to note with regards to both the 'miracle' children. According to rumour, each of these pregnancies have occurred to men in an exclusive gay relationship. Two isn't a large sample population, but it is something we're considering. Elaine's gotten permission to visit one of the abandoned outposts on M7G-677. We're going to see if she can find anything of interest. I'm looking forward to the trip. I've signed on as pilot to free up some of the military pilots. If she can learn something concrete, it might help with future prevention or screening techniques.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**October 16, Atlantis, Pegasus**  
Dear Jane,

Well that was a bust.

I flew out to M4S-Z92 with Elaine, Karen Pulaski, and a military escort yesterday. We arrived, they spent two hours poking at various panels and loading crates with gizmos to take back to Atlantis, and then they accidentally trigger this green light that sweeps through the room. Once the world stops spinning, Elaine starts yammering about how it was the same frequency as the wave that hit Major Lorne's team. To be on the safe side we've all been ordered to wait twenty-seven hours before having sex, and then to use protection. It was fun watching the younger marines squirm while Carson gave us follow up instructions.  
_ Laura_

* * *

**04 October, Suburb of Calgary, AB**  
Dear Laura, 

The Colonel sounds like he would get along well with my husband. I have, through the two years of our marriage, been subjected to three seasons of **Babylon 5**. As well as being forced to allocate family funds for the purchase of the TV Movies of the same series. Sarah sounds just precious. Do you have pictures?

You have my sympathies with the research. I spend more time than I care to think about with my nose buried in databases, looking up things for the lawyers who ask nicely. How is that project coming? Any further insights into what caused Dr. Parrish's pregnancy? Or are you still ramming your head into a wall? I can imagine how frustrating that must be.

Now, tell me about this Jason. You wrote rather a lot about him, and he seems like a nice fellow. What does he look like? Is anything happening there I should know about? It sounds to me like he fancies you, or at least your trips to the mainland. Still enjoying those nights around the fire? You know you want someone to talk to about this.  
_ Jane_

* * *

Bundle 7: Transmission Date 30 November, 2007

* * *

**November 10, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane, 

It's November. You know what that apparently means for Atlantis? Pap season? You got it in one!! Carson was far too relieved for my liking when he mentioned it. And, of course, there's the fact that he's somehow scheduled himself exclusive, private, research time that just happens to last the entire week of annual paps and pelvic exams. I'm doing the city's entire female population in a week. It's going to be Hellish. Regular incidentals get rotated amongst the others. I feel so terribly loved.

Oh, shit, I need to get a hold of Jason and let him know that I have to push back the trip to the mainland a day. This is going to be a nightmare.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**November 18, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

It's done. Thank whatever deity you ascribe to, it's done. Every woman in the city has had a pelvic and a pap smear. Including yours truly. That's the good news. That, and the fact that Jason took the delay in stride. He's been bringing me lunch since I haven't been able to make it down due to the workload.

The bad news? Is that Elaine Kirnov turned up pregnant. I realized when I was doing her pelvic, and a blood test confirmed it. When I broke the news, she became hysterical. It took me five minutes to get her to calm down enough to talk to me. When she was finally speaking intelligibly again, I almost took a turn at the hysterics. She's a lesbian. Hasn't slept with a man since 1997.

After doing a Beta HCG Quant we confirmed what we already knew had to be true. The pregnancy dates back to that nice green light we encountered at the Ancient outpost. She and Karen, assuming that it wouldn't be an issue, ignored Carson's order about no sex for twenty-four hours after our return. So. Now we have confirmation of her theory.

Great. Wonderful, even. Is it wrong that I've hit the point where, after the initial shock, the first rational thing I think is 'Thank God she's not military'? This is getting to be a bad joke on the cosmic scale.  
_ Laura_

* * *

**November 12, Suburb outside of Calgary, AB**  
Dear Laura, 

I'm so glad things seem to have settled down. You mentioned the city being the best chance for victory, victory against whom? Have you been involved in any battles? I worry for you, though I know there's nothing I can do. I shall take heart in the fact that the city, though it has suffered bombardment, is still standing. Was it the Wraith you wrote of before? You talked about vampires, but I assumed you were joking.

I'm surprised that people would chose to remain in the middle of what is beginning to sound more and more like a serious war zone to have their children. They must have a lot of faith in that city of yours. Even with the strangeness of being a pregnant man, there must be somewhere Dr. Parrish could reside here on Earth that would be safer and still able to treat him. And the young Lieutenant you've mentioned _must_ have maternity rights with regard to gaining an Earth posting (And doesn't that sound strange, discussing obtaining an Earth posting). She must have strong ties to someone there. Who is the father, do you know? You've mentioned her enough that I'm curious. But I can understand that if a precedent of choice of the 'mother' has been set it would be hard to revoke. I see similar things in legal cases all the time. Once something's established as an approved M. O., it's hard to change it. I look forward to hearing more soon.  
_ Jane_  
- - -  
**November 23, Suburb of Calgary, AB**  
Dear Laura,

I missed the second letter before! Letters two and three got wedged against the pipe, found them this morning when I was fighting with the cat litter. I think it's possible the jammed cat litter pail is what caused them to get wedged, actually. I'll need to be more careful with that.

So the Ancient Outpost was a bust. That's a shame, it sounded like a good shot at learning what was going on. Doesn't it worry you, getting hit by strange beams of light? Whether they're the same frequency as the earlier exposures or not. I mean who knows what the long term effects of this could be? And why do you refer to the planet by alpha-numerics? Is it a code name of some sort? I'm sorry, I'm full of questions this month. Probably a result of a calm month in the office. One of our major cases just settled, so three months of work went bust and we don't have much on the agenda until the other big case is closer to its court date. It's all run of the mill at the moment. Nothing exciting like your life. Although if exciting means getting hit by strange beams of light? I might pass.  
_ Jane_

* * *

Bundle 8: Transmission Date 31 December, 2008

* * *

**Dec 7, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane, 

What good timing you have! Laura Cadman had her baby. It's a healthy boy, just shy of nine pounds. The rumor mill has been going nuts since it came out two weeks ago that Carson's the father. It certainly explains why she didn't return to Earth. And also why she was so quiet about him. The city held together like it has for the last ten thousand years, so maybe it's not as foolhardy a risk as I thought to remain here. It's the off-world teams that end up in the infirmary. We've only had a few city-related incidents since I arrived: lab burns, contusions from sports games on the mainland, and allergic reactions to new foods for the most part. I hear there was a nanovirus that got loose a few months after the original expedition arrived, but we've had nothing like that happen.

I've concluded that there must be an unwritten rule that babies in the Pegasus Galaxy must be born in the middle of the night. At least on this planet. Last month we had an Athosian woman who ended up requiring evac to the city because she was breech (And of course she had to be a week past her due date. _Big_ baby). Thank god the therapy took with Halling, because I'd have hated trying to fly and keep her calm.

Then last night, technically this morning, Lieutenant Cadman quick-delivers at 0200. At least it won't be a problem with Dr. Parrish. We're scheduling him for a C-Section two weeks before his estimated due date. And Dr. Kirnov isn't due for another seven months. The Athosians seem to be on a breeding binge, but I have my suspicions that our marine contingent may have something to do with that. Dr. Weir's been muttering about the need for a policy on the relationships, and she's right. Legally this could get messy back home. I know at least two of the soldiers have been courting Athosians. I know that Kyra, the Athosian due in roughly four weeks, owes her current status to a marine. I hear they're thinking about marriage after the baby's born. The Athosians don't believe in shotgun weddings the way they do in Texas, but I think there's a hope for permanence and a further blending of our peoples.

David has been handling his situation as well as can be expected. Until Elaine came down pregnant we'd been working under the assumption that there must have been a virus of some kind in the resin from the plant that bit him. A remnant of someone's twisted sense of humor in the genetic engineering field. Now we're reasonably sure it was the energy beam. I've got a working theory on it, but I want to do a bit more research before committing anything to paper. Even to you.

In clinical terms, he's got his very own parasite developing independently in his abdomen. Fun stuff, right? It just happens to have generated from his and Major Lorne's DNA. We still haven't determined how genetic material was collected. I've been bracing myself for the talk we need to have about what exactly they were doing in the period during and immediately after getting hit with the beam of energy. Then I get to have the same talk with Kirnov and Pulaski. I need a new job. Right now, however, I need sleep more.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**December 17, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year. Whatever you celebrate. We had a combined celebration last night since there's such a range of nations and cultures represented by our little family. Jason dragged me there kicking and screaming (I've never been one for the holidays. Most of the last ten years I haven't been anywhere that celebrated the Christmas I grew up with. And mom's family was Baha'i, which meant that Dad's family were the only ones who actively celebrated). I'll admit, I had a good time. It was nice to just relax and not worry about anything. The Athosian moonshine didn't hurt either. They've got a good quality still going on the mainland. It's a little high proof, but sweet to go with the burn.

Woke up this morning in bed with Jason. Not completely sure how I feel about that. We didn't have sex, which is a relief. I think we were so drunk last night near the end that protection wouldn't have even occurred to us. I'm worried about where this is going, though. Because I really care for him, but I'm scared this will blow up in my face. If it does, I can't just request a transfer to India at the next eval. And it's such a small community, everyone knows everything. It wouldn't be just ours, even for the first few weeks of acclimation. It's possible the damage has already been done, though. It's late enough in the morning that someone's going to see him coming out of my quarters. And I don't have the heart to wake him, he looks so peaceful.

I sound like a sap. This is not getting things done. I need to get down to the lab, get some coffee to clear out the hangover, and get back to work on the analysis of the effects of that beam of light. Because there has to be _something_ in the post- mission physicals to indicate something had changed. Maybe another half hour of sleep, though. And some water.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**December 28, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

I keep meaning to tell you about the city and other things keep coming up! You asked about the war. I'm not sure you can call it that, but I guess it's close to accurate. I'm reasonably certain I've never gotten the full story, even after six months here. I know that after the expedition arrived, some of their members were captured in a Culling on Athos (It's where the Athosians are originally from). A Culling is exactly what it sounds like, humans are sucked up into Wraith ships using a transportation device like a wolf removes the sick from a herd. They take whoever they can get. Colonel Sheppard led a group to rescue the captured people, and in getting them out of the Hive Ship (something akin to a mothership, from what I understand) he 'woke' the Wraith. Apparently they hibernate as a species for centuries at a time, allowing the human populations to grow before feasting. That's right, they eat people. Not the flesh, they pull out your energy or something. I've never seen it done, and Carson still hasn't figured out how it works, but I've heard some pretty gory things. The Athosians say the Wraith suck away years of your life, leaving those that they don't kill old and withered. It's enough to give you nightmares.

The city itself has stood for over ten _thousand_ years, though most of them were spent on the floor of the sea here. There's a shield that protects us, but most of the time we don't use it. It takes a lot of power, and our supplies are limited. Oh, and the alpha-numerics are the designations for planets we visit. If it starts with a P then it's a planet, an M is a moon. The rest of the name deals with either the representations of the symbols entered or the mathematical description of the location of the celestial body. I'm not terribly certain. We just dial and go, we're not told how it works. To go somewhere with the 'Gate you enter seven symbols on a dialing pad, six are the address of where you're going and the final is where you are traveling from. It has to do with three dimensional coordinates or something. I'm not a physicist, so I don't know the details. I keep meaning to hunt one of them down, but I haven't had the opportunity yet.  
_ Laura_

* * *

**December 13, Calgary, AB**  
Dear Laura, 

Pap Season? Oh, you poor thing. You must have had a terrible time getting everyone to come in for their exams. I generally put mine off as long as I can, and with our healthcare system that's easier than you'd think. And I can just imagine the lab work. Jason sounds like a godsend. How have the trips to the mainland been going? Are you still getting 'anonymous' gifts? Give me _details_. My husband's out of town all week, let me live vicariously.

Now, on the topic of Elaine... Are you serious here? You're not playing with the nice Canadian paralegal, trying to break her brain? Because I'd just about hit the point where Dr. Parrish's pregnancy was making sense. And now you tell me this. I _understand_ that you're in another galaxy. But honestly, this is ridiculous. You're spot on about this reading like a cosmic bad joke. It's a shame that it's real people getting caught in the middle of it. It sounds like you're making progress in discovering what's causing it, at least. And just think, in future it could be a positive thing for same-sex couples. It would just be better if it wasn't in the middle of whatever it is you're stuck in at the moment.

Bruce and Thomassina send their love, and their fur. They've been shedding all over as I've been writing. Do you have any cats over there? Or something similar? And when am I getting a picture of Sarah? She's got to be getting close to a year now, yes?  
_ Jane_

* * *

Bundle 9: Transmission Date 31 January, 2008

* * *

**January 4, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane, 

You asked for a picture of Sarah McKay, and after some bribery I've finally managed to get my hands on a hardcopy version. I'm also enclosing a sketch I made of a Wraith. It's not terribly good, and it was done with charcoal one evening around the fire on the mainland, but it should give you a rough idea. I'll see if I can get Jason to sketch one for you, he's much better with a pencil. Enjoy!  
_ Laura_

- - -  
**January 16, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

It's a madhouse around here. We took in refugees two days ago and still haven't been able to relocate them. Hopefully they're out tomorrow, otherwise we're going to need to start opening up another portion of the city for permanent housing. _And_ there was a problem with the circuitry that shut down half the transporters for four days.

Oh, and I saw my first live wraith. We have a couple dead ones that Carson likes to play with in the genetics lab, and those were disturbing enough. A live one is like something out of your worst nightmares, except it's real. A raiding party appeared on Solivan while I was holding a clinic. They came in ships, beams of energy sucking people away. I wonder if they take all life forms of a certain size or if they can distinguish the humans. I mean, did they get any cows by accident? I ducked and covered and let the military blow them out of the sky. It seemed safer. As a precaution, we brought the local population back to Atlantis in case the Wraith sought vengeance for their loss. It's a concept I hadn't considered before, wiping out an entire _population_ in retribution for defiance. Major Lorne seemed to think it was likely. He's a bit jumpier than usual lately with David being due soon, but his judgment's sound.

The concept is very real now. Their village, their land, their livestock... It's all just gone. Nothing survived. Everything that could potentially facilitate community-based life was razed, the soil charred. It's a terrifying thought, and makes me realize just what will happen if we lose this fight. We can't lose, because there will be nothing left for those who come after.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**January 25, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

_Daedalus_ Day! And not just any normal supply shipment. Dr. Weir's request was approved! An education specialist was among the new personnel this run. Apparently five children was the magic number to get someone to help with the childcare and with services we can offer the Athosians who have agreed to staff our 'nursery'. From what I understand, we have Dr. McKay to thank for this. Apparently the important types back at SGC were willing to do just about anything to keep him here in Pegasus. Which is how we got an education specialist added to our list of essential personnel. She's to get a crash course in Ancient and then begin instructing the Athosians in addition to setting up a more permanent nursery.

The temporary nursery is currently being handled by four Athosians who take it in shifts around the clock, it's more like a twenty-seven hour drop in center than anything (Our days here are 27 hours, not 24. It's great once you get used to it, but the first three weeks are a hassle). Once Mary, our new specialist, is up to speed she's going to start instructing the nursery workers on Ancient when the children are quiet. It was part of the arrangement: In exchange for running and staffing the nursery the Athosians get access to the gene therapy, imported supplies (in moderation), instruction in written Ancient, and regular medical care from our facilities (as opposed to the emergency basis it was offered on before). We may see about recruiting some of the refugees who come through periodically as well, once things have settled into more of a routine. The best part of all of this? Robert Cadman, an adorable baby but unrepentantly a Mama's Boy, will no longer be gracing us in the infirmary with his lung capacity from nine-to-five. This is reason to celebrate, believe me.

Requisitioning new personnel wasn't the only side effect of the new 'members' of the expedition. Cameron Akeilo, son of an Athosian and a marine, has had an impact of his own. A few days after his birth Dr. Weir sent out a city-wide Email, which I am enclosing here since I would like a legal take on the situation.  
o: Group-Atlantis Personnel  
From: "Dr. Elizabeth Weir" Intergalactic Legal Concerns

All Staff,

Given the temporary nature of Atlantis postings, and the great difficulties in traveling between Earth and the Pegasus Galaxy, I would like to ask that all personnel attempt to refrain from having children with the Athosians. This is not because we do not like them, or that we do not wish to strengthen ties between our societies. The fact is that the issue of jurisdiction is as of yet unresolved. Until the various militaries, the science staff, and the United Nations have come up with a frame work, please try to avoid impregnating non-expedition members or getting impregnated. I don't want to try to deal with intergalactic visitation and custody arrangements. The SGC has policies on offworld, unsanctioned marriages; they'll get to off-world families. Give them time. And at the moment, EARTH IMMIGRATION IS NOT AN OPTION.

If you have any questions about this policy, please send an email to or stop by my office.

Dr. Elizabeth Weir, PhD.  
Head of Atlantis Expedition  
Private Radio Channel: 15

She's probably not going to be too pleased that there's at least one more on the way. The one mitigating factor in the whole baby boom is that aside from Lt. Cadman, all of the 'mothers' have been civilian. There just was no civilian policy in place prior to this, which gives Dr. Weir some room to maneuver. By the regs, Lt. Cadman should have been shipped home, though. I understand it was quite a battle for her to stay, because even though the pregnancy wasn't her fault it also takes her out of the field. If she went back to Earth, she'd never return. Her career was going to suffer regardless, this way she can still do a job she loves when she's back on active duty in four weeks. One of the requirements for being assigned to this project was not having any legal dependants. That's gone to Hell.

At least McKay was the one who broke policy first. Unintentional or not, they can't **afford** to send him back. Never mind that apparently Earth doesn't want him. The social scientists are already muttering about what they're calling the "McKay Effect". It's the ability of one inordinately forceful individual to influence the developmental situation of others based upon sheer force of personality. McKay says the nursery is to have Mozart played in the background? Someone finds a speaker system somewhere. I can't wait until Sarah starts talking and he decides it's time for her to start formal education of some kind. I think I'll be off world for that discussion.  
_ Laura_

* * *

**January 20, Calgary**  
Dear Laura, 

It sounds like you never get a break! First what sounded like your version of a Hell Week, now you put my late nights to shame. All of that being in addition to having to conduct a highly detailed investigation into the sex lives of your patients. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that late night babies aren't limited to the Pegasus Galaxy, even if they do seem to be ganging up on you. Heck, I was born at four in the morning.

I'm glad Lt. Cadman (Does she have a first name? You call everyone else by first name except for Dr. McKay and Colonel Sheppard...) is doing well. My cousin's in the RCN (Well, technically the MARCOM branch of the Canadian Forces, but they call themselves "Navy"). She lost almost three years on the promotion track when she had my niece, and she's never been able to get back into sub service (At the moment that's not an issue, but she complained for _years_). I'd imagine it's similar in the American forces.

Using the term parasite for a foetus just sounds wrong, even if it is the technical definition given the circumstances. Is it completely self-contained, amniotic and all? I'm fine with him being pregnant in concept. I run into problems when I try to think through the biology. I think I'll leave it alone and not force my mind into places it doesn't want to go.

I feel bad about not sending holiday greetings in my last letter. It's a bit late now, but the motivation is still genuine. I'm glad Jason made you attend the festivities, you work harder than most of the lawyers I know. My husband was away for Christmas and Boxing Day since they fell during the week, but he took off on New Year's Day so he could be home for the night. We met some friends of mine from the firm to ring in the new year. It was a small gathering, warm and friendly.

So how have things progressed with Jason? That's rather a strong catalyst, waking up in bed with someone. Has anything else happened? Has anyone said anything? Has he spent the night _again?_ I keep asking for _details_ and you keep not providing them. You're no fun at all.  
_ Jane_  
- - -  
**January 26, Calgary **  
Dear Laura,

I was reading over your descriptions of the city again and I can't help being in awe of it. You say it's stood for over ten thousand years. The oldest structures we have on Earth are the Pyramids, and those are only five thousand years old. And the gate address system sounds wonderfully intriguing. You'll have to let me know if you manage to track down a physicist willing to speak to a layman.

I don't care what you call it, a war is a war. That it's against an enemy that eats you (and for the record? That's really disturbing.) doesn't change things. The colonel woke them up? I'm not sure I understand, but I guess I don't really have to. It's enough to know that they're awake. Last month my husband asked what was wrong when I went on a cleaning spree on New Year's Eve waiting for your letters to arrive. In order to explain it, the last day of the month has now become the official cleaning day for the house. My husband thinks it's a little off, but he tolerates my quirks since I tape **Wormhole X-Treme: Dimension X** for him (It's amazing how much that show mimics things you've told me, almost like a parody. Ancient alien city and all. Does your Colonel Sheppard romance every alien woman he meets?).

It's silly, and I know it. There's nothing I can do that will change whether or not the letters arrive. That doesn't stop me from awaiting them anxiously. It's given me a much better understanding of some things. One of the other paralegals at the firm, Susan, has a fiancé overseas in the Middle East. We've started taking lunch together a few times a week. She's glad to have someone who understands, even if she's unclear on the details on my end. I thank you for that knowledge. Because of it, I've gained a friend at work in addition to one in another galaxy.  
_ Jane_

* * *

Bundle 10: Transmission Date 29 February, 2008

* * *

**February 12, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane, 

The entire city breathed a sigh of relief tonight. We delivered David's baby by C-Section today, with no apparent complications. By all appearances a perfectly healthy baby boy. Apparently beams of energy don't have any negative connotations regarding gestational development. That's the good news. They still hadn't named him when I left, David was a bit on the groggy side.

I have no idea how Dr. Weir is handling the political ramifications of one of our commissioned officers not only fathering a child in another galaxy (See also: the memo about sleeping with the Athosians) but with someone of the same gender. Not that it hasn't happened before at this point, but Colonel Sheppard has been a bit of a unique case from the beginning if rumor is to be believed. I have faith that she'll sort it out somehow. Worst case Major Lorne just won't be listed on the birth certificate (That's what they did with Colonel Sheppard. It makes the paper trail a lot cleaner. There are only so many times you can slip 'mysteriously impregnated due to Ancient Tech' into the footnotes of reports before someone gets suspicious, though. Even if it is true).

Something else with regards to Dr. Weir, she's given us a go ahead for testing the equipment that triggered the beam at the outpost in hopes of determining how it works. Her condition is that she's the test subject. Ostensibly it's because she 'won't ask her people to something she wouldn't do.' I think she's been doing the math and realizing that the only way she can _have_ a child at this point is with an excuse and possibly some help. She's in good physical health, so the advanced maternal age is only a minor concern. And we now have proper childcare arrangements already in place, so there's no risk of her being accused of procuring them for her own use.

We've gotten to know each other reasonably well over the last few months. She insists I call her Elizabeth in person, but I can't do it in writing. She has this force of personality that's hard to believe until you've experienced it. Dr. McKay is the only other person I've met who can do so much with just words. I supposed it makes sense, she is a diplomat by trade.

We return to M7G-677 next week. Elaine's been studying the data from our previous visit feverishly, and is reasonably certain she's determined how the machinery works. That's one advantage to our situation: even though Elaine and David are/were planet bound, there's still plenty for them to do that frees up others. They're not sidelined like they would be if they were military.

For the experimental exposure Dr. Weir is going to have complete bloodwork as well as a full body scan completed before and after. We'll note any chemical elevations, oddities, etc. The goal is to determine how the energy effects the body enabling the rather unique side effects previously noted. We'll also take another scan and blood sample the next morning. The other advantage in using Dr. Weir is that she's currently involved with Dr. Zelenka (I mentioned him once before, I think. My only real experience with him involved a missing eyebrow after a lab accident. He's this little Czech scientist who can get absolutely _spitting_ mad. Apparently he and McKay are perfect for each other in the lab).

The positives for Dr. Zelenka in this particular situation? He is male, civilian, and not in Dr. Weir's chain of command. This means there will be no repercussions should she become pregnant. It's the perfect test case, because no one can get shipped back to Earth over it. Rather, it's a lot less likely. And if Lt. Cadman (Her first name is Laura. However I instinctively stick to rank and surname for the military. It's a side effect of a few years in the Air Force's ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) at one point in my life to pay for school) could stick around? Dr. Weir's got enough clout to swing it. She can do _anything_ she puts her mind to.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**February 21, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

Well, we've gathered our data. And I'd lay money that Dr. Weir ends up pregnant, but we won't know for a week or two.

Regardless, I have a massive data file on the effects of the Ancient Beam'o'Mischief (As one of the nurses insists on calling it). I also have a rather substantial file on David's pregnancy. I'm set for reading material for the next _month_, assuming things calm down around here.

Now that little James Parrish is certified healthy and adapting well to the formula we've started getting from one of our trading partners I can finally start my off- world clinics again. I think a return to normal is going to be a nice change. I'll take the break while I can get it, though. Because given what Jason was telling me in terms of 'Welcoming' customs the Athosians have mentioned their trading partners use? There's every reason to believe I'll have a serious headache in a few weeks. It never really slows down here.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**February 24, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

This time I'm writing just to you, not relaying events to clear my mind. I'm touched that you worry over me. Please don't worry too much, things sound much worse than they are. Well, most of the time.

You asked about Jason. What to say, what to say. We're sleeping together, primarily on the nights we're on the mainland. With the experimental work on M7G-677 I haven't had much time for _anything_ these last few weeks, and he's been terribly understanding. Valentine's Day? I fell asleep in the infirmary logging data on David and James. You realize at a certain point that there's no reason not to pursue a relationship out here, because what's to lose? I'd rather have some companionship, and if I can find it love, than be emotionally safe. And to be frank, he's a geologist. He goes offworld far less than I do. It's oddly reassuring.

Does Colonel Sheppard romance the natives? By most accounts (I tend to go offworld to pre-established trading partners so don't work with his team) the natives make every attempt to foist their daughters off on him (And the occasional temple priestess), but he bravely turns them down. I think Dr. McKay would castrate him. The man's reported to have a rather vicious jealous streak, although I've never experienced it first hand. He also has quite a number of interesting toys at his disposal. I really need to corner Dr. Zelenka and make him explain what some of them do. He's a physicist! Either that or make him give me a lackey to interrogate. There has to be someone in that department who doesn't _live_ in the labs.  
_ Laura_

* * *

**Feb 4, Calgary** Dear Laura, 

Firstly, Sarah McKay is adorable. The hair! Is that genetic, or merely a bad morning? It's the most impressive bed-head I've ever seen on a baby. The Wraith, on the other hand, is disturbing. Even without details (And it's _very_ good for a charcoal drawing without proper tools), it's not something I'd like to meet in a dark alley. It looks humanoid, how big are they? The same size as an average human? Larger? Smaller? Your sketch doesn't given anything for gauging size.

However big they are, any race that would eliminate an entire population in revenge for death of a scouting party is horrific. I know it's happened on Earth, but we have war crimes inquiries for that kind of thing. Hell, the Geneva Convention guarantees humane treatment of POWs. I don't think eating them is included in the definition of humane treatment. I know the Wraith aren't party to our domestic agreements, but it's the only thing I have to go by.

You mentioned being unsure if they differentiate between lifeforms when abducting them. If they don't, does that also mean they can eat other lifeforms? Cattle, for example?

If they get an accidental cow (or Pegasus equivalent) does it just get tossed out the nearest airlock as useless fodder? Think of the damage you could inflict in a space battle w/ 'spaced' cows! They don't have the density of metal projectiles, but they have novelty. And I'd imagine they could severely gum up a windshield. Although I guess it would be more worthwhile if your ships operated primarily on a visual flight basis vs. instrument rated flight. Do they? Not that I'm advocating space-cow-fighting, but just because I'm now curious. I think my husband's wearing off on me (I haven't been sleeping much lately. Several lawyers only now realized that their CLEs for the next re-cert are woefully absent. We've been scrambling to get them sorted out so they're not disbarred before the big trial we have coming up. Overtime is good, but it leads to exhaustion. Please excuse me if this makes no sense. I'll look it over again before I send it).

I now understand your motivations in supporting the war and working in what is essentially a war zone. Before, you spoke of the civilians in war zones needing more help than anyone. Given what you've written, it seems to go beyond even that. And with their populations being culled, a high birth rate and low infant mortality is going to be essential if these cultures want to survive. It doesn't make me worry any less for you, but I can understand the necessity of what everyone on the expedition is doing.

I know that by the time you get this it will be irrelevant, but I'm wishing you all kinds of luck for the upcoming C-Section. How have David and Major Lorne been handling their impending fatherhood? You mentioned that David was adjusting reasonably well to the changes, at least the physical. With all that's been going on, you never mentioned anything about the psychological. That's got to be hard, especially since you said that the military coming over had to have no dependents (and were probably not expecting to have any in the near future).

It's late, and I need to get some sleep. I've glanced over the EMail you enclosed, I'll try to get back to you with a professional opinion in the next few days.  
_ Jane_  
- - -  
**February 13, Calgary**  
Dear Laura,

I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to this, things have _finally_ settled down at work. Just in time for Valentine's Day. Of course, my husband's out of town since it's a Wednesday (I just realized I've never told you his name! And after how many months of correspondence? Pure negligence. It's Jon, short for Jonathan). He took me out for dinner last weekend, and we're going to visit his brother and their children in Vancouver at the end of the month, so I don't mind too much.

I'd been wondering how you were handling on-base childcare. I didn't realize that you were so stretched for personnel, but it makes sense. This Dr. McKay sounds like quite a character if Earth was willing to send you additional personnel just to keep him in your galaxy. What is **SGC**? You've mentioned them a few times, but you've never explain who they are. I'm going to assume they're a regulatory body of some sort.

I feel for your new specialist. She's going to be dealing with everything you did, but in a crash course! Did she get a more thorough briefing than you did? I can only hope. How is she integrating with the Athosians? And it sounds like a wonderful idea, having them work in the nursery in exchange for job skills as well as supplies. From the sound of it, both communities are too small to exist in a vacuum for any duration.

You mentioned refugees earlier. How many are you talking about? Tens? Hundreds? Where did they go if they don't remain in the city? And if they do remain, how are you handling it? I'd imagine it leads to security issues, not to mention stressing your supplies, even if it's only fifty more mouths to feed.

The EMail from your Expedition Head looks like a sound move. Think about your own history (American), the most recent applicable situation I can think of is Vietnam. At least the children and local wives of soldiers had the option of returning to the US in the years following the war, though it was incredibly messy. Here it sounds like you don't have that option, so what happens if you're forced to pull out of Atlantis, return to Earth? Either your soldiers remain in Atlantis with their new families and have effectively severed all ties with Earth, or they leave and the local population is left in the lurch. Neither is a good option, from a social point of view.

It sounds like it's a bit late to start attempting to enforce a policy, but at least there is a written record of acknowledgment of the situation. I'm very interested in how things work out, on the policy and legal end of this. Please keep me updated!  
_ Jane_  
- - -  
**February 25, Calgary**  
Dear Laura,

I was chatting with the owner at one of the local First Nations craft stores. When she asked if I had any children I said no, but I did have a friend who was expecting. She pulls out this beautiful dreamcatcher and starts telling me about them. It's attached to the bundle of letters, I hope it's not too large for whatever it is that transports the letters. But I wanted to send it for David's baby. Also enclosed is a written copy of the dreamcatcher legend, should he not be familiar with it. The baby's going to have enough to give it nightmares should it grow up over there, I thought I'd send something to help.  
_ Jane_

* * *

Bundle 11: Transmission Date 31 March, 2008

* * *

**March 5, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane, 

David loved the Dream Catcher. I can't thank you enough. I couldn't tell him where it actually came from, he assumes it came on the _Daedalus_ as a personal item. He already knew the legend, and it now hangs in the window in the nursery.

In the weeks prior to James' birth, David and Major Lorne moved into one of the larger suites in the North Residence Wing. The wing was opened up when the imperative to establish family housing became overwhelming with little Sarah's arrival. It contains multi-room suites as opposed to the single room quarters that had been the sole previous option. Now we have something like twenty-five two and three bedroom suites available.

It kills two birds with one stone. First and foremost, it gives the new parents a room for a nursery. Second, and almost as importantly, it keeps any cranky babies from disturbing the main population. The suites are also available to single personnel (both military and civilian), but the trade-off for what some consider better quarters is that they have to deal with the screams if the soundproofing doesn't hold. There are three babies currently in the wing, although Sarah is more a toddler than a baby right now. The rest of the population up there, it's about half full, is mostly scientist/military combinations. The Athosians who work in the nursery have also claimed one of the three-bedrooms as a secondary residence for when they can't get back to the mainland.

David and Major Lorne (Nick, in case you're curious) seem to have adjusted into their new roles reasonably well. Unexpectedly, Major Lorne had more difficulty coming to terms with David's condition than David did. Probably because he didn't have killer morning sickness for three months (We were actually concerned about David at one point, he lost near to fifteen pounds before stabilizing and beginning to gain). Admittedly, the Major's also having to deal with the personal ramifications for his career that may result from this. I'd bury my head in the sand for a while, too. As he put it, "They didn't cover this in Major School."

In other news, Dr. Weir tested _very_ pregnant a few days ago. Not as if there was much doubt, but the readings we've gathered have been very helpful. We're going to see if we can modify the life-signs detector to also register energy readings so that we can be alerted if a team triggers one of the latent beams. If they trigger? People get a 24 hour hold notice on the exchange of bodily fluids, just to be on the safe side.

I mentioned the usage of spaced cows as a battle tactic to Colonel Sheppard when he was in with a laceration from a rough game of football on the mainland. He laughed, a lot. Apparently no one knows if the wraith suck up everything with a large enough bio-sign or not. Culling knocks a person unconscious, and when you wake up you're in a cell. No way of knowing if they might have picked up a cow alongside that they blew out their equivalent of an airlock. Although the Jumpers (Puddle Jumpers) have 'windshields', they also rely on complicated instrumentation when in space. I've only ever flown them on-world, so have never had a reason to pull up the more complicated scanners (Never mind that I don't have quite the same caliber of gene as the colonel).

Thank you for taking the time to look over the EMail. SGC stands for Stargate Command, it's another name for the base at Cheyenne Mountain (or more accurately, the people there). You make valid points about pulling out and leaving people behind. If we ever do pull back to Earth, it's already going to be terribly messy.

The Athosians are becoming more and more an integral part of the city's community. There are those who work in the nursery, Teyla (a member of Team One), the two men who have begun training the marines in low-tech weaponry, and the teens who come in three times a week for schooling in both written English and Ancient (They've been picking both up with remarkable speed). In exchange, as work in the city will allow, we've had more than one scientist take up temporary residence in the settlement to conduct local work. The botanists, biologists, geologists, and linguists have all been thrilled to trade time working the fields and on the construction projects for lodging and something interesting to study. One of our mechanical engineers has been doing some architectural work on the side, drawing up plans for more permanent mainland structures.

There's been talk of stationing a small contingent of marines out there, as a precautionary measure should there be an off-world attack (Unlikely given we have long-range sensors, but stranger things have happened) or a lone Wraith undetected on the continent somewhere. I think it's Colonel Sheppard's way of acknowledging that despite concerns, our populations are mixing rather thoroughly. I know it would make it easier for Sgt. Williams, who has a son on the mainland.

There would always be the understanding that should it be necessary the marines would return to the city, but it would give the men who are courting Athosians a chance to see what they might be, for lack of a better term, stuck with should the expedition be recalled to Earth. And if they include weapons training in the bargain, I'm sure the Athosians wouldn't mind in the slightest. It's not approved yet, but I think it's the likely course at this point.

Our refugee population waxes and wanes. When I wrote you before, we had upwards of two hundred here. Now, the city was designed to accommodate thousands. But we try to limit how much of the city is actively used to conserve power. We have a ZPM, but it's at nowhere near full charge. We try to save it for the things we really need, like the shield.

You asked about Mary. She seems to be doing well. I think she got a bit more lead time to deal with the realities of moving to another galaxy. I think they may have also warned her that Sarah McKay has two fathers, and one of them has a bit of an attitude problem. Oh, Sarah's hair? Comes straight from Colonel Sheppard. No one believed him when he said it was natural until hers started doing that. It looks even stranger in real life.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**March 16, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

Wonderful news! The city has been abuzz with the news of a mostly charged ZPM recovered yesterday. I managed to sit down with Dr. Irulan, one of the newer physicists, and make her explain how ZPMs work. While Jason's "The city came Batteries Not Included" version was succinct, I wanted a more technical explanation of what makes the lights flicker (Although one of the prevailing theories on _that_ is that the city's semi-aware). The Zero Point Modules (We call them ZPMs) are essentially a self-sustaining reaction of some kind that generates vast quantities of power but can be drained (I asked about how that works, and she got really technical. I smiled and nodded a lot). If I'm going to be here for the long haul, I need a basic understanding of how things work. I don't need to be able to write the equations.

And I am going to be here for long haul. I'm doing so much good with the clinics, and the number of different cultures I've been able to visit is just astonishing. Carson pulled me aside today to ask when I was planning to take my Earth leave since I need to do so before Elaine's due in case there are complications. I'd be shipping back on the _Daedalus_ for a run (We don't have the power to burn for regular gate usage on that scale, even with the new ZPM).

I realized as he was talking that I don't want to go. Not even for the seven week round trip in that sardine can of a spaceship. Well, six week round trip, one week leave. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to meet you in person some day. But right now? I am needed and valued _here_. This is where I belong. I have Jason. I have the wonderful people I work with. I have the worlds I visit regularly, never mind the Athosians.

I have so much opportunity here, even with the threat of attack. If I go back to Earth? There's the chance I won't return. I can't take that risk. I now understand why none of the senior staff have gone back for leave since I arrived. _This_ is home, in every way that matters. We can't risk abandoning the people here without a damn good reason.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**March 21, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

It seems I spoke more truly than I knew. The _Daedalus_ is a week late. A few days late has happened before, but they've never been this late before. Dr. Weir contacted SGC, and got what amounts to "I'm a lieutenant, I can't answer your questions."

Opening a wormhole back takes a lot of power. We couldn't keep it open long without using more than we can spare. We may have more power than we did a month ago, but that's still not enough to waste it. She gave instructions that she'll call back in 24 hours, hopefully there will be someone on hand to answer questions.

_Daedalus_ is our link to Earth, bringing supplies and information and a connection for the expedition to the home they left behind. Even though this is home now, you never forget where you came from. And the biggest concern is technology, at least from my point of view. Most of the rest of the supplies they were bringing we can make do without or get from trading partners. But ammo for P-90's and sidearms is complex, and has extremely narrow specifications in order to function correctly. And laptops and headsets are minted using advanced technologies. Most of our trading partners aren't equipped for massive industrialized production.

This has the potential to get very bad.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**March 23, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

We're not going to be getting visits from the _Daedalus_ any time soon. Dr. Weir managed to contact someone in authority at SGC, and it's not a pretty picture. _Daedalus_ has been pulled from supply runs and re-assigned planetary security. For an indeterminate period of time.

We've essentially been given a pat on the shoulder and told "Good Luck, you're going to need it!"

If this doesn't resolve in a few months I'm going to inform Dr. Weir of our correspondence. Because at least it'll give us a way to get letters out to families.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that Dr. Weir has had contingency plans in place in case something like this happened. Both long and short term. Apparently we've been stockpiling technology, ammunition, and weaponry quietly since it started arriving on the _Daedalus_, along with other essential and non-replaceable supplies. And we've got a database to rival the Library at Alexandria, never mind what we have in the Ancient Database. Information we can trade and use to bring some of our trading partners up to higher quality production standards if we're going to be relying on them for a while.

We do have the _Orion_, a ship we recovered from an Ancient Outpost from what I gather, but it's not in any kind of shape for intergalactic travel. It's been docked on the North-East Pier since I arrived. The estimates I've heard about its repair run anywhere from one to five years. If Earth doesn't come for us by then, we can make the trip ourselves if we have the ZPM to spare.

So it's not hopeless by any means, and I don't want you to be unduly concerned. But any information you might have on why this is happening would be appreciated. And if you receive a bundle of letters next month that's larger than normal, you'll understand why.  
_ Laura_

* * *

**March 7, Calgary**  
Dear Laura, 

Oh, thank goodness. I'm so glad both David and James came through everything well. Have they determined how they're handling the legalities yet? Did they go with a single parent birth certificate?

I have to agree that after two or three of these babies under strange circumstances they're going to raise a collective eyebrow. On the other hand, if the SGC (I'm going under the assumption that it's a regulatory body until I hear from you) handles anything in this galaxy like what you've encountered (or implied that others have), then they probably know not to push for details if reports show a certain flavor of reticence. At least one can hope.

I hope your testing goes well. While you're not in the ideal location for a baby boom, I can understand Dr. Weir's personal position. We have lawyers at the firm who are facing infertility treatments because they wanted to make partner before having children, and from what I've heard it's not a fun prospect.

Dr. Zelenka sounds amusing, and you're right about it being the perfect test case at this point. Sticking with the civilian population should give you some legislative slack, never mind using a heterosexual couple with no direct command conflict.

I'd love to hear these anecdotes about welcoming ceremonies at some point. Although I can understand if discretion is exercised ("The names have been changed to protect the innocent" and all that).

So. Jason. Sleeping together, eh? I'm sorry your Valentine's Day didn't exist, but it's just a superficial holiday anyway. It's not like they sell Russell Stover's where you are, at least I would assume not. I find it amusingly refreshing that of the two of you Jason has the safer job. A nice break from the stereotypical.

So Colonel Sheppard _is_ an intergalactic Casanova, it's just by accident. That's just funny. Aah, so Dr. McKay and Colonel Sheppard are seriously involved as opposed to a casual accident resulting in Sarah. That clears some things up. Although really, there's just something amusing in talking about two men accidentally ending up with a baby from a one night stand (even if it's completely true). You said they never did figure out when exactly he got pregnant, if I recall.

Scientists living in their labs, not a new concept. Although I suppose one could argue that the whole of Atlantis is, in some way or another, something to be studied. So in essence you're living in one giant lab, eh?  
_ Jane_  
- - -  
**March 28, Calgary**  
Dear Laura,

There's something going on with the American government, although no details have been released. The buzz words in the media the last two days have been things like **Allocation of Funding** and **Audit** and **Massive deficit**. The gist seems to be a slash to black box funding (Is that you?) and national security concerns.

The American Congress seems to be up in arms, although I haven't seen enough to know if they're for or against the funding cuts. It doesn't sound good. Thought I'd pass it along in case it affects you.  
_ Jane_

* * *

Bundle 12: Transmission Date 30 April, 2008

* * *

**April 2, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane, 

I have never been more glad to have this connection. You've shed a little light upon what's happening to us out here. Of course what I'm hearing worries me, but it's better than total ignorance.

I've come to a conclusion, I'm going to speak with Dr. Weir about our letters. I know there will likely be repercussions for me, but at this point we need accurate information far more than I need to worry about fallout from what is, at the moment, a non-communicative government.

Yes, from what I can gather we fall into the category of 'Black Box Funding.' They're certainly not advertising our expedition if the number of non-disclosure statements I signed is any indication.

I'm going to save the anecdotes for another time. Things are too hairy right now to be able to justify a few hours writing stories, much as I might like to. We're re-inventorying _everything_ to find out what we have, what we need, and what's going to be a problem. I'm really hoping the latter is a small list.

I can't help thinking about the fact that if they cut SGC funding, what happens to us? If they won't dispatch _Daedalus_, are we going to receive an order to evacuate Atlantis and return to Earth via the 'Gate? Are they going to bury us in the books and just write us off?

If they order us back to Earth, I'm not sure Dr. Weir will go. This 'Gate is the only one capable of dialing Earth. Should it ever fall into Wraith hands, it opens a whole new galaxy to them. That's something none of us can morally condone. Which means we'd have to destroy the city. I know it's been talked about before, but to do it merely because Earth has had a change in politics? There's so much that we haven't learned. So much we _could_ learn. And what of the Athosians, do we just leave them to rot? I know we'd looked at the implications of a possible order of removal, but to do it for these reasons?

I'll admit, I'm lucky. I'm not leaving behind anyone who will miss me (except for Hannah, and she has her own life now). And I know I can count on you to let her know what's happened to me should it be necessary. It's much harder on the newer personnel (It's strange to think of myself as one of the old hands, but there are so many who arrived in the last couple of runs who look so _lost_). They have not only much clearer images of Earth, but more recent ties.

If things follow the second option I mentioned above, you'll likely be asked to let families know that we're not dead. Nothing classified, but just short personal messages.

When the expedition first set out, they knew there was a possibility of never coming back to Earth. Most of us have minimal family, if any. I know Carson has a mother back in Scotland, but that's unusual. Even the newest arrivals have, at best, a sibling or grandparents. There's a reason all of us agreed to come here.

To be honest, most of what I've mentioned above could very well not come to pass. I'm just warning you what might happen. I hope things are better where you are. Not that they're bad here, exactly, but everyone's in shock. We're trying to get the inventories done ASAP to know where we stand.

We're more than twice the size of the original expedition group, that's a lot of mouths to feed. We've been relying on the _Daedalus_ for food to some degree, though we're not entirely dependent. Most of us don't know how large a degree. Dr. Weir's going to let us know what the situation is when the inventories are done.

Speaking of Dr. Weir, I feel for her. Not only does she have the weight of the city on her shoulders right now, but she's seven weeks pregnant. So in addition to the general stress we're all under, she's tired and nauseated. I don't envy her the next few weeks. Or any of us, really.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**April 10, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

I spoke with Dr. Weir. Drs McKay and Zelenka have examined my 'trash bin' inside and out and can't figure out how it works. Dr. Weir's too happy to have an alternate manner of contacting Earth right now to be upset over confidentiality issues. Still no new word from Earth, it's now been two weeks of silence.

Dr. Weir attempted to call via the 'Gate again today and was informed that there is no Atlantis Expedition by the lieutenant who was on duty in the SGC gate room. We are on our own, at least until the US government gets itself straightened out.

She is enclosing a letter of her own in this month's bundle, along with a hard-drive of personal messages for you to distribute. They're simple text so all you need to do is hook it up to a computer, hit 'print', and then mail them to the address at the bottom of each letter. The hard drive should have a sheet with it with slightly more technical instructions including software requirements.

It's real now. We're not getting back to Earth until we've got the _Orion_ up and running. I don't know whether to be relieved that we're not abandoning the people here, or scared that Earth cut us off with so little thought.  
_ Laura_  
- - -

**April 25**  
Dear Jane,

I have been informed by Dr. James that the two of you have been in communication since her arrival here in Atlantis. While she has told me your occupation and location, she refuses to give me your last name. She says you are a Jane Doe, for all intents and purposes. Given that you are our only link to Earth at the moment, I am perfectly comfortable with your anonymity.

As our sole link to Earth, I ask you to do something for me and my people. Enclosed with this set of letters is a hard drive containing personal letters from the members of the expedition to our families. I have been assured that it will interface with any standard commercial computer. I ask that you get these letters to their intended recipients if at all possible. Given recent developments it is likely that our respective governments will list us as either Missing In Action or Killed In Action, and we are neither.

I would also ask that you keep us abreast of developments within the United States Government so that we can know if there is an opportunity to attempt to re-establish communication.

I know that I am asking a lot, and were it for myself I would not ask such a thing. But this is for all of us.  
-  
Sincerely,

Elizabeth Weir  
Head of Atlantis Expedition

**April 2, Calgary**  
Dear Laura,

It sounds as if good and bad really do come hand in hand! It's wonderful news about the ZPM, and it sounds like you found it just in time. I mentioned in my last letter that there had been rumblings from South of the border. They grew louder for a few days, around the time I started paying attention. Then they grew silent. The inquest and everything related to it fell to sixth page news in an awful hurry. The military budget issues in particular were gone almost as fast as they made headlines. I had hoped that this didn't involve you, but since you said your supply ship has been reassigned it sounds like it does.

It's hard to get reliable news. There have been a number of closed meetings and an inquiry is currently being held into 'discretionary spending' in the armed forces. I think some of its an attempt to restore public faith in the military after the Guantanamo disaster a few months ago. I'm sure you heard about that. But the problems between Taiwan and China seem to be taking journalistic precedence. Given that the two have calmed down, I think someone gave the press a nudge. Either that or the American government is being a lot quieter than normal. Is there anyone I could look up down there who might be of help to you (the expedition)? Someone from SGC who might be willing to pass along more information? If you can give me a name or two I can start quietly poking around from work.

Have there been any indications from the Powers That Be about when you'll start receiving supplies again? Are you going to tell Dr. Weir about our letters?

I hate not knowing, and the waiting is almost worse. I hope everything's all right over there.  
_ Jane_  
- - -  
**April 25, Calgary**  
Dear Laura,

It occurs to me rather late that I did not address most of your entries, only responding to the last (even if they are the most significant). I'm responding to those in hopes that this will keep my mind off whatever's happening in your neck of the woods.

I'm pleased to hear that the expedition is integrating well with the Athosians. If nothing else, it'll make it easier for the combined families like Sgt. Williams and Kyra Akeilo (She is the mother of the Sgt's son, yes? Or has there been another mainland baby born that you haven't mentioned?). Did plans to move marines to the mainland ever get approved? I can't imagine they'd be denied, although I suppose if you're short staffed then everyone would be needed in the city. You've never mentioned how large a population you have. Are we talking two hundred? Eight hundred? And how many Athosians? Do you _have_ a sustainable population if the worst happens?

Mary must be overwhelmed, given that she arrived on the last supply run. Has she begun teaching yet? It must be so hard to try to cram language into your mind is such a short period of time. Did you learn the Ancient writing system? Have the computer techs figured out how to translate displays into English? You've never mentioned it, but then I'm not sure it's ever come up.

I'm glad that David liked the dream-catcher. It seemed the least I could do. I'm going to go and worry some more. I'll try to enclose some print-outs of relevant news articles. There hasn't been anything at all about the military this week. I hope that means things have resolved for the better.  
_ Jane_

* * *

Bundle 13: Transmission Date 31 May, 2008

* * *

**May 3, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane, 

Thank you for the clippings. They've made the rounds of the city since arriving and met with mixed reactions, but everyone's glad for the news from Earth. In general things seem to be settling down. The inventories are done, and people have begun coming to grips with our potential isolation. Dr. Weir made a city-wide announcement about the fact that certain policies are being immediately changed and others will remain in place. It was followed by an EMail outlining the changes. It's mostly personnel stuff. She's lessening the restrictions on fraternization in general, eliminating restrictions on Athosian participation in internal security, and rescinding Carson's mandate for prophylactic use. Almost everything else will be staying unchanged for the moment, if nothing else for its comfortable familiarity.

We still don't know how long we'll be cut off. Dr. Weir's final attempt at contacting SGC last week was met with silence. From what those more familiar with the overall program have gleaned from your clippings, we're not likely to be hearing from anyone anytime soon. Unless Earth has located another ZPM, we've got the only power source capable of an intergalactic wormhole. That makes the _Daedalus_ the only way to contact us, and if SGC is in chaos or under budget cuts on a massive scale, _Daedalus_ isn't going to be coming our way anytime soon.

Dr. Weir told us that right now the _Orion_ is our best shot at resuming contact with Earth. Which means we're going to be on our own at least two years according to revised estimates. Other things are going to change, they'll have to, but I don't know how soon. We're changing our main priorities to making the city as self-sufficient as possible and making more concrete alliances. I get the feeling I'm going to be busier than ever with the clinics if things pan out.  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**May 12, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

I've asked around regarding your offer to look someone up for us. Across the board I've been told no. You're doing enough for us, getting word out to our families. If they're trying to make the Atlantis Expedition disappear, they'll try to remove anyone who knows about it. If you start asking questions there's the possibility you could find yourself in serious trouble. Given how earnest both Dr. Weir and Major Lorne were about this, I'm not going to question it. I don't want you to be risking yourself for this.

In more cheerful news, we've had a run of promotions on the military side of things. Given the lack of new personnel in the foreseeable future, Dr. Weir and Col. Sheppard agreed to commission several of the marines, including Sgt. Bates. He's now Capt. Bates, and a few of the newer marines have been pushed up to Lieutenant. In addition they're consolidated the rank structure, merging Air Force and Marine Corps into one promotion ladder. We started off with a fair number of officers courtesy of the _Daedalus_, but given attrition rates in the military they've decided that it's better to plan for future attrition and to allow for a larger number of off-world teams. I heard Capt. Bates cursing his promotion in the mess this afternoon. Along with the double jump apparently came responsibility for integrating the Athosian Warriors into our military, at least those willing to join. I don't understand why it's such a problematic task, especially since we've been training the Athosians on the mainland ever since the decision to station a garrison out there was approved, but the Colonel just snickered when I asked. Apparently there's an inside joke regarding Capt. Bates and the Athosians.

As I mentioned above, plans for a military garrison on the mainland have been approved. It's going to be a few weeks, possibly months, before the project is completed and living quarters are available, but it's underway.

I hope you received the hard-drive and have been able to distribute the letters from here. Our population is a bit over 1000 including the refugees and Athosians. I was inaccurate before when I said we were double the original population (250 + Athosians), it's closer to triple. At the moment we are roughly eight hundred Earth personnel, a hundred Athosians, and a hundred varied Pegasus natives. Looking at things from a genetic perspective, should we be forced to look at permanent residence we couldn't have asked for a better mix. We have close to twenty nations represented among those from Earth, which means a wide array of genetic source material. With any kind of luck at all that will never be an issue, but it's a good thing regardless. It also means that we have a wide cultural background; should we be on our own twenty years we are less likely to lose our heritage. It's a comfort.

To turn things to gossip for a moment (since it's been so subdued around here lately): I think I mentioned this before, but it's been confirmed now so I thought I'd let you know. Dr. Weir's carrying twins. That's why her Beta HCG came back so high. We don't know if it's a side effect of the beam or merely her age. Fraternal twins _are_ more likely in older mothers. There's no evidence of twinning in either medical history for the parents, so if she's carrying identical twins it's likely a side effect of the beam. There's no way to be certain, though. So our controlled study has officially gone out the window. You just _can't win_ out here. The beam is going to be giving me headaches for years, I can already feel them ganging up behind my eyes. At least it'll give us a guaranteed way to increase our population should the need arise.

Jason and I have claimed one of the suites. Not because I'm pregnant (I'm the only OB here, I don't have _time_ to get pregnant. Not that the babies aren't cute...), but for the space. I've been receiving gifts from local populations, in addition to the agreed upon trade items, for my clinics and the help I've given. Things like clothing and small items. There are enough things that I'm looking forward to having more space to display them.

The move will also let me use the spare bedroom as a private office, which I desperately need. It'll give me somewhere that's not the infirmary to speak with patients who have anxiety issues or serious complications that need addressing. I've learned in the last six months that there's a lot of counseling that goes into some of these cases, and it's easier to get the patients to come and see me if it's not in the infirmary. There is also the fact that a number of the expedition members just aren't comfortable discussing pregnancy concerns, or anything else for that matter, with Dr. Heightmeyer. Either they are wary of psychiatrists or merely don't want the perceived stigma attached to such a visit. I'm not the only one doing this, at least two of the other doctors are doing the same. Carson and our resident coroner already have their own offices or work rooms, but the rest of us 'general practice' types were assigned a niche as opposed to a full office upon arrival. They're not terribly practical for consultations. You wouldn't expect it, but the most annoying things sometimes are the most familiar. The niche resembles a cubicle, which is just disconcerting. Because really? Who goes to another galaxy to write up reports in a cubicle?  
_ Laura_  
- - -  
**May 30, Atlantis**  
Dear Jane,

One year. It's been one year since I told the Air Force "I Do" and hopped on a ship across the galaxy. So many things have happened. I'm not the same person I was, I don't even know how I'd talk to someone from Earth. Not that I can't communicate. It's more that once you've stepped through the Stargate and seen incredible things, how do you talk to someone and not mention them? It's so much a part of my life, even the sleeping with a sidearm next to my bed. How do you go back to being a normal civilian? Can you?

It's going to be a long few years until the _Orion_ is fixed. But if I had the choice between being safe on Earth, never seeing the things I've seen, or being stuck here with the possibility of Wraith attack all too real? It's not a choice, not in any way that matters. I've helped so many people since coming here, both city residents and Pegasus natives. I know they would have found someone else if I had said no, but where would I have ended up?

I know, I'm beating a dead horse. It just struck me this morning when I logged into the network that it's been a year. It seems so much longer than that. And now with the cessation of contact with Earth it seems longer still. I wonder what things will be like when we finally get real contact again. Not that you're not real, but official contact. For now, whatever information you can quietly scavenge about our home countries would be greatly appreciated. And possibly the occasional DVD. I won't ask you any more. You're going to be our lifeline, how's that for pressure?

In all seriousness, thank you for doing this. Even if it's just the letters, it lets us all know there's an Earth to go back to.  
_ Laura_

* * *

**May 2, Calgary**  
Dear Laura, 

I received the Hard Drive, and when my husband returns Friday night I will enlist his aid in printing and distributing the letters. With luck they will all be in the mail next Monday.

So your concerns were true, you have been cut off. That makes both of our positions far more serious, though yours is far more so than mine. I'm going to tell my husband the basics of what's going on when he arrives Friday. Just as you have told Dr. Weir, if he's going to help me with this he needs to know what he's involved with. I felt I should warn you, as you gave me notice with Dr. Weir, although he will know before this reaches you.  
_ Jane_  
- - -  
**May 14, Calgary**  
Dear Laura,

It took longer than we had hoped, but after two weekends of work all of the mail has gone out. Jon had to handle all of the interfacing, I'm hopeless at that kind of thing. I'm glad things aren't as bleak as they could be over there, but the comment about how you don't exist worries me. It sounds like plausible deniability in the making. Don't count on them coming back, even if there is a change in authority. The people who bury unwanted projects are often very good at what they do.

Jon has a few ideas about sending information back to you. I'd never realized how many countries were represented amongst your colleagues. Spending an hour at the post office sorting out the various fees was an _experience_, but one I will gladly repeat should it be necessary.

Things have been busy out here. We've put our major case of the moment to bed, but there's another that I'm helping on that's just kicking into gear. That's always the case, though. _Energy Law waits for no one_ and all that. I hope everything's going well for you, you deserve a turn for the better soon. I sent Hannah a note to let her know you're alive and well, since you didn't include any personal messages. I hope that was all right.  
_ Jane_  
- - -

**May 28, Calgary**  
Dear Dr. Weir,

Attached please find the hard drive you sent through. All of the letters it contained have been mailed to their intended recipients, with instruction to forward should the recipients have moved.

The hard drive now contains as much information as Jon, my husband, could find regarding current events. When you send it back, please send any specific acquisition requests you have (DVDs, movies, music, etc). Jon will see what he can do to find digital versions, and we can send hard copy of the rest. It's the least we can do. I wish your expedition well, and a speedy reconnection with whatever governmental agencies you deal with. Until they come to their senses, Jon and I will be glad to send on any correspondence you require.

Sincerely,

Jane


	2. Extraodinary

**_Ripples in the Space Between_**

**II. Extraordinary - Tales from the Playpens of Atlantis**

* * *

**Sarah McKay**

**Daughter of Dr. Rodney McKay & Lt. Col. John Sheppard**

Sarah McKay stood just outside the 'Gateroom and waited. She didn't particularly _like_ waiting, but sometimes it was easier just to do it. Jumping the gun got you in trouble, she'd learned that the last time she'd tried this. Following her first failed attempt at sneaking into the 'Gateroom and engaging a wormhole she'd been locked out of the computer systems for a month. This time she wasn't going to get caught. It helped that Lt. Campbell spent so much time in the nursery. It meant she heard about what happened in the 'Gateroom first hand, which meant she knew exactly how to get the 'Gate unattended. Theoretically.

She'd meant to complete this project a few months earlier, but she'd gotten distracted by the need to plot revenge on Robbie for blowing up her favorite console and getting the kids as a whole banned from the computer terminals in the larger nursery room. She'd gotten James to help, and together they'd snared Robbie in one of the semi-sentient vines in hydroponics. She grinned at the memory, then turned her attention back to the door and awaited Atlantis' signal that all was well. As if on cue, the door slid open and Sarah stepped hesitantly into the 'Gateroom.

It was 0230, a little under a third of the way through Alpha Shift. A single tech should have been on duty. Since her door had opened, it meant Sgt. Laredo had left the room. Probably to run to the bathroom, but Sarah didn't care. All she cared was that for a few glorious minutes the 'Gateroom was hers. Plenty of time to conduct her experiment. To be safe, she paused and studied the door controls for a moment before reaching up and pressing on the lower segment and concentrating. Solitude assured, she ran up the stairs to the dialing pad and set her 'borrowed' radio down beside it. She pulled a chair over from the duty-station console so that she could reach the symbols. Then she took a deep breath and entered the 8-symbol sequence and pressed the 'enter' key.

The 'Gate lit up, followed by the familiar rippling surface presenting itself. She stared in shock for a moment, because the 'Gate wasn't really supposed to work with eight symbols. It was a myth. She'd heard some of the adults talk about Earth in quiet voices, that was real enough. Mary, the head matrena told them stories about Earth sometimes. Tales of strange sounding places called 'Oxford' and 'Berlin' and 'New Delhi'. They sounded fanciful and exotic, but at the same time they didn't make sense. So many cultures on one world. Why? When Sarah had asked, Mary had told her that most of the people on Earth didn't know there was a Stargate. Leaving wasn't an option. Sarah thought that sounded awful; she couldn't imagine not having a 'Gate.

The wormhole established, Sarah reached over and picked up the radio. She'd seen Dr. Weir do this several times, so she knew exactly what to do. She sat up higher on her knees to watch the ripples and pressed the 'talk' button. "This is Dr. Sarah McKay calling the SGC. I repeat, Sarah McKay calling the SGC. Do you copy?" She paused. Dr. Weir always waited to a count of thirty before repeating the call. No one ever answered. This was why Sarah almost fell off the chair when the radio in her hand crackled and responded.

"This is the SGC. We didn't catch it all the first time, please repeat your designation."

Sarah eyed the radio suspiciously for a minute, wondering if Tychus was playing a prank. She knew it wasn't impossible. He didn't understand the concept of Earth the same way she did. Athos didn't exist anymore, there wasn't anything worth trying to save. Her parents still talked about Earth, about things they could acquire there. The city still received news of Earth, but it was _Earth_. Not _Home_. Home was Atlantis. She was a 'Lantean. Tychus was a 'Lantean. Earth was a bedtime story. Except now it wasn't.

The radio crackled again. "I repeat, this is the SGC. Please identify."

Sarah fumbled for the talk button. "You're not supposed to answer. Nobody ever answers. Who are you?"

There was a pause. "This is the SGC. Homeworld of the Tau'ri. Um...How old are you?"

"I'm almost five. But just because I'm little doesn't mean I'm dumb. Who are _you_? What are the Tau'ri?"

"No, no. I know from experience that little can be quite deadly. Sweetie, are your parents around?"

Sarah considered her answer before responding. "Nope. They're in bed. Practicing 'intimate relations.'" She smiled, proud that she'd gotten the term right.

There was a fit of coughing on the other end of the radio. This worried Sarah, she didn't want to lose her conversation partner. "Are you ok?"

The coughing resolved itself after a moment. "Fine. I'm fine. Are there any other adults around?"

Sarah thought. "Well, there was the duty sergeant, but I locked him out. I'm not supposed to dial the 'Gate myself. Papa will ground me if I get caught; he knows how to hard wire things so the city won't let me have my way. And they'll probably take away our console access again. And then James and Robbie will blame _me_. And then they won't want to play expedition team with me and I'll have to do my trig all by myself and -" She sniffled dramatically.

"Okay. Okay. I get the point. You're not supposed to be using the 'Gate. I won't tell. Can you at least tell me where you are? What you call your world?"

"Our world? Well, the world doesn't really have a name. We all live in the city of the Ancients, though. That's called Atlantis." There was a crashing sound from the radio. "I'm a 'Lantean, the first one born here in 10,000 years. I don't know the P-name, Daddy never told me. And he knows all the P-names."

The clatter on the radio sorted itself out. "Did you say _Atlantis_??"

Sarah winced and hoped she hadn't said something wrong. "Um, yes?"

Whatever response the person on the other end of the wormhole gave was cut off by a banging on the 'Gateroom doors. This was followed a moment later by a voice she knew all too well. "Sarah Sheppard McKay! You open these doors right now, young lady. Don't make me override this control panel." There was a pause. "Don't make me have your father override this control panel." Sarah winced again. Daddy was out there, and he didn't sound happy. She could feel Atlantis whispering a warning in the back of her mind; it was quiet, but perfectly clear. She turned her attention back to the radio.

"I think I should go now. Daddy's outside the door, and I don't think he's happy that I locked him out. He's threatening to get Papa."

"Wait! Wait, don't go. This is the first time we've heard from Atlantis in three years! You can't just hang up!"

"But Daddy's going to get upset and make me do push-ups with Uncle Ronon again. I don't _like_ push-ups." The banging on the door grew louder.

"Sweetie, how about you open up the door and give your Daddy the radio. I'll explain who I am and I'm sure it'll all be fine."

"How do I know that? I mean the Genii said that too, and then they tried to blow us up."

"My name is Sam Carter, and I'm a Colonel in the US Air Force. I promise you that you won't get in any trouble for this. Now you need to open the door."

Sarah stared at the radio in shock. "You're the one that Papa calls a hot blonde!" There was an indignant squawk from the radio, but Sarah ignored it. "He likes you, maybe he'll listen to you. But if he doesn't, I'm never talking to you again."

Sarah hopped off the chair and walked over to the main door, pausing to study the panel to one side before reaching up and touching it while thinking the door open. Outside were three security personnel, her Daddy, her Papa (who had the control panel on his side open and a crystal in his mouth), and Uncle Ronon. She was dead. She held out the radio as meekly as she could. "Colonel Carter wants to talk to you, Daddy."

John Sheppard took the radio from his daughter, looking her over for signs of injury. Finding none, he tentatively pressed the talk button. "This is Colonel Sheppard."

Again, there was a pause. Just when he had reached the decision that Sarah was not leaving the nursery until she was eighteen for pulling this kind of prank, the radio crackled and Sam's voice came through.

"Colonel Sheppard? Colonel John Sheppard?"

"Yeah, that's me."

* * *

**Tychus Lucina**

**Son of Amarana & Spyro Lucina (Athosians)**

_Code Red - 3 hours. I repeat, we have a Code Red - ETA 3 Hours._

The announcement rang through the city, startling its occupants out of their daily tasks. Before the echoes had faded several personnel in the mess hall had stood and were heading out the door. Tychus knew that they were the duty pilots, going to bring everyone in from the Mainland. His matra had explained it to him when they'd moved to the city, and again every time he asked until he remembered it all by himself. When a code sounded, everyone had things they were supposed to do. For people like his matra, it was different things for different colors. For Tychus, all of the codes meant the same thing.

They meant stop what you were doing and listen to the matrena. The two times he remembered clearly it meant spending all day in the smallest nursery room with two of the matrenas and playing with blocks. The matrenas didn't even play with them, they just sat near the doors with their weapons and watched. The only time they did something different was when it was "Code Alpha." Then they went to the 'Gateroom instead of the nursery and Lt. Campbell checked you off on a list before you went through the 'Gate.

This time was no different. The matrena made them line up and they walked back to the nursery, leaving dinner behind. Now, there were snacks in the smaller room set aside especially for Code Days. They were good snacks. However, today had been purple pudding day, and Tychus really wished they could have finished dinner. They only had purple pudding once a week. It was so much better than blue cake. He didn't say anything, though. The one thing they all understood was that you obeyed the codes. It was one of the first things they learned once they could talk and understand. The codes were there to save your life.

When they arrived at the small nursery room, Tychus claimed the corner with the blocks and settled in. After a while had passed, he poked Sarah to get her attention.

"What's happening? What does the city say?"

Sarah shrugged, concentrating on some math work. "Don't know. She says someone's coming, but she won't say who."

Tychus frowned. That didn't help. Finally he went back to his blocks, building towers this time. When he heard the matrenas stop talking and pick up their weapons, he knew it must be three hours. He shifted to get a better look at the matrenas. Mary, their Head Matrena, was seated facing the door with a P-90 in her hands. Ilanna leaned against the big desk with a stunner. As far as he could remember, they'd never used the weapons. He knew that the Wraith were out there, but they'd never been in the city. It was _Atlantis_. It was protected by the spirits of the ancestors.

A long time later (He was pretty sure it was a long time. They weren't allowed to use the consoles during codes), he heard the matrenas talking on their radios. Hushed whispering about possible intruders and spaceships. They were nervous; Ilanna kept shifting her stunner and eyeing the door. It scared him, and he put the blocks away and moved to curl up under the big desk.

He fell asleep under the desk, only to wake up to the sound of the door. He looked around, and saw that the sun had gone down while he slept. The rest of the kids were sleeping. He crawled out a little to see who was at the door. The man in the doorway wore cammies and carried a familiar gun. Despite the familiar uniform, his face was that of a stranger. Tychus squeezed back under the desk as quietly as he could. He heard Mary speak, her voice as unfamiliar as the stranger's face. It was hard and angry, not the voice she used with the children.

"Stay where you are." The man in cammies froze, having missed the women in the shadows. He paused, waiting. It was Ilanna who broke the silence.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in this city?"

The man's voice was placating. "Calm down, ma'am. How about you put down that gun. I'm not here to do you any harm. We're just here to find the Atlantis Expedition, if they're still alive. Renew ties with Earth." Mention of the mythical planet intrigued Tychus, and he crept back out from under the desk to watch.

Mary was holding her P-90 tightly, glaring at the newcomer. "Bullshit. You. Cut. Us. Off. No explanation, no notice, just suddenly you're not returning our calls. And you think we'll come crawling back?"

"Ma'am, I don't know the circumstances of the cessation of contact between Atlantis and Earth. I was sent down by the _Icarus_ to do recon, see if anyone's alive down here. Now we know that you are. Now, I'm going to go back out that door and let my people know that you're alive and well down here. Then we can get into the name calling."

Ilanna had stepped further out of the shadows, stunner levelled at the man's head. "I'm sorry, _Earther_. I can't allow that. If you will please get on your knees and place your weapon on the floor." The marine blinked at the name, spoken like an insult, but obliged. "Tychus, since you are awake, please take the man's gun and set it by the window." Tychus crawled the rest of the way out from under the desk and picked up the gun, ensuring the safety was on before moving it to the designated location. The marine's eyes widened further at the sight of the small boy. Ilanna spoke again. "If Earth wanted diplomacy, they shouldn't have sent a cloaked warship."

The man shifted uneasily but held his tongue. Mary stepped a few meters away and tapped her radio. "This is Dr. Patel in the nursery. We seem to have some unexpected visitors down here. Yes, ma'am. They're claiming to be Earth affiliated. Thank you, we'll be waiting." She shifted her P-90 to a more casual position. "A team will be down in a moment to escort you to Dr. Weir's office. She can decide whether to believe you or throw you to the bloody Wraith."

The marine paled. "I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding." He shifted uncomfortably. "Wait, you have a British accent. You're from Earth, aren't you?" Mary's P-90 snapped back up to its former aim.

"No. I _was_ from Earth. Then Earth left me here to rot. I was on the last run of the _Daedalus_. They brought me out here knowing full well that I wasn't going home. And they didn't even have the decency to tell me. So let me give you a word of advice. Don't think those of us who came from Earth will be more sympathetic. We're all of us 'Lanteans now. You'd do well to remember it. Now I want your side arm, your K-Bar, and any spares you might be carrying on the floor in front of you."

The marine just stared at her in shock, opening and closing his mouth once before submitting to her request. He removed his sidearm, removed the clip, and set it on the floor in from of him. She nodded approvingly. He was reaching for his K-Bar when sudden noise from the hallway drew his attention. A moment later a squad of Atlantis security personnel appeared in the hallway, a disarmed figure in camouflage standing with his hands bound before him in their midst. Tychus recognized James' father, Major Lorne, as their leader. That was good, it meant things were under control. The Major was one of the top military men in the city; he and the Colonel kept the city safe. If he was here everything would be fine in the end. The Major nodded to Mary in recognition.

"You holding up all right in here? Any problems?"

She shook her head. "No, Major. None at all. This one was just going to put his K-Bar down before going with you lovely gentlemen. Weren't you?" She directed the last to the kneeling marine. She gestured helpfully to the floor with her P-90. The K-Bar quickly joined the sidearm and ammo.

Major Lorne took a quick gaze around the room. "Looks good. I'm going to get him up to Dr. Weir, hopefully we can get this whole mess straightened out and be back to normal soon." He caught a glimpse of Tychus and offered a smile. "How about you, you want to get out of here?"

Tychus nodded. "Soon, Major?"

The Major ruffled Tychus' hair. "Soon as we can, kiddo." He turned and prodded the now standing marine. "This way."

The door slid closed behind the men, and Mary and Ilanna let out quiet sighs of relief. Mary set down her P-90 and turned to Tychus. "So, I guess you're up for a while, hm?" She smiled gently. He couldn't reconcile the matrena he saw now with the stranger who'd cursed the newcomer. He'd never seen someone so angry. He nodded in response to her question.

Ilanna stepped over and spoke to Mary quietly for a moment. When she finished, Mary nodded. "Since you're up, we might as well wake the others for a bit. How do you feel about an Ancient lesson?"

Tychus nodded energetically, his mind flitting ahead in anticipation. He loved the Ancient teacher. She'd appeared when Sarah was old enough to talk, and ever since she'd been giving all of them in the nursery lessons in how to speak Ancient and how to write. The Teacher, as they all called her, was beautiful. Sarah said that she was taken from the image of one of the greatest ancestors who had lived in the city in time beyond memory. Before the Wraith.

Sarah had, on occasion, been known to make things up when they suited her. Tychus had learned that the hard way when she'd convinced him to go exploring on one of the piers with her. He found himself desperately wanting to believe her words about The Teacher, though. There was magic in the thought of a world without Wraith.

The children weren't the only ones who learned from the The Teacher. Every day they had different visitors during their daily Ancient lessons. Sometimes Sarah's Papa came, sometimes Dr. Weir, sometimes Dr. Zelenka. But the Athosians, like Tychus' own parents, came in the largest numbers. His matra had told him what a great honor it was to be instructed in the language of the ancestors, how he must study it well. It was their legacy, his people believed. A legacy they now shared with those once-of-Earth, like Mary. She had spoken truth earlier. They were all 'Lanteans now.

Tychus helped Mary and Ilanna wake the other children, feeling important as a result of having seen the stranger. As they were settling down for their lesson the warning tones echoed through the city, followed by Dr. Weir's voice.

_Code Red - All Clear. Code Red - All Clear. Peaceful contact has been established._

* * *

**Robert Cadman**

**Son of Lt. Laura Cadman & Dr. Carson Beckett**

Robbie Cadman was, by nature, a precocious child. This was lucky, since he didn't have much choice in the matter growing up in Atlantis. In the Atlantean nursery, being precocious was the rule rather than the exception. That he spent his earliest days divided between the infirmary and the armory before the nursery had been organized probably didn't hurt. By the time he was three, he knew all of the basic explosives configurations and recipes for _four_ different ways of making C-4 from scratch.

Of course since Sarah was competent in two forms of martial arts and manipulating wormhole theory, and James spoke 3 languages by the age of two, this didn't seem very spectacular. It merely made him normal.

A week after the _Icarus_ arrived, the elder children grew tired of spending all their time with the matrenas. In a normal week they'd spend their days, and maybe one or two nights with the matrenas. But almost all of the children had been in the nursery since the arrival. All the parents were too worried and too busy to have them 'running around underfoot.' If the adults wouldn't do it, it was up to the kids. That was their reasoning. So with a little planning Sarah, James, and Robbie had staged a nursery-break. Tychus and Cameron refused to take part, but they were lucky. They had Athosian mums, which meant they went home every night. Lisa and the twins were too young to not get in the way.

They had thought it out well; each of them had chosen a parent to find when they got out. Sarah was to find her Daddy, who was hopefully doing paperwork and would let her work quietly in his office rather than taking the time to bring her back to the nursery. James was to go to Hydroponics; his Dad had never ratted him out before. And Robbie was going to find his mum. They'd been on partial stand-down since the warship had arrived, so she'd probably be doing inventories and small detonator construction. She normally let him help with that. It would be a lot nicer than the Infirmary. The infirmary always smelled weird, no matter how long you were there.

When they reached the end of the hallway with the nursery, James and Sarah got into the transporter and Robbie prepared to take the left hallway. He turned back to his cohorts and all three waved and sketched a quick Athosian blessing for luck, then the doors slid shut and he was alone.

Robbie ran quietly through the corridors, avoiding the main hallways. He knew if he was seen he'd be taken back to the nursery. He was almost to the armory when a figure stepped out of an unused office and into his path. Unable to stop, Robbie ran right into Colonel Sheppard. The Colonel steadied him, then squatted down to Robbie's height. "What are you doing out and about, Mr. Cadman?"

Robbie tried to avoid looking The Colonel in the eye, but failed. "I just wanted to see my mum, Colonel." He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "I haven't seen her in four days, and Dad's only been by twice." At least he hadn't told The Colonel that Sarah was out too. That was something.

Colonel Sheppard hugged him. "I'm sorry, Robbie. Things have been really hectic the last few days. We wanted you kids somewhere you'd be safe. I didn't realize I'd had Captain Cadman tied up so much." The Colonel paused, thinking. "Well, she's in a meeting right now. All of the military have to meet with Colonel Vong from _Icarus_, but she should be done soon. _I_ have to do paperwork. If you can be quiet, you can wait in my office until she's done."

Robbie nodded enthusiastically. This was great; he wasn't getting sent to the Infirmary and he wasn't even getting sent back to the nursery. He grabbed on to one of the straps attached to The Colonel's sidearm and started pulling him toward his office. Colonel Sheppard chuckled and let himself be pulled down the hallway, ignoring the strange looks from the temporary _Icarus_ staff he passed along the way. The looks confused Robbie. After all, what was so strange about him dragging The Colonel through the halls by his holster? Sarah did it all the time.

They entered the office and found Sarah sitting at The Colonel's desk. She looked questioningly at Robbie who grinned sheepishly, then launched herself at her Daddy. The Colonel caught her in a hug and settled her on his hip, big as she was. Robbie let go of The Colonel's thigh-strap and wandered off to play with the console in the corner. He pulled up the schematics for a drone and had the computer make each material a different color, then pulled up a blank picture of a drone and started coloring it in. It was a game he'd found a few months ago, and he'd made it up to the drone now (it had started with baby stuff like a simplified Jumper). Dr. Z said something about it grading the colors by chemical composition, but Robbie wasn't interested in that. He just knew you could only color in a certain order, and you had to get the whole thing colored in.

It was an hour later, according to the console, when his mum arrived. She looked tired and angry and frustrated. Robbie and Sarah had started to attempt a two person version of the game and were sitting at The Colonel's desk while he did paperwork in a more comfortable chair with his feet up. Robbie loved that about Sarah's Daddy, he was completely OK with breaking the little rules. Robbie had heard the door chime, but didn't turn from his game. The last two chimes had been false alarms, various marines complaining about the _Icarus_ or asking for advice. Not his mum. He didn't look up until she spoke and he realized who it was. He almost ran over, but decided to wait until she was done with The Colonel. They'd had the talk before about interrupting official business. It wasn't fun.

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

Colonel Sheppard raised his eyebrows. "Shoot."

"Colonel Vong is a chauvinistic pig." She paused. "Sir."

The Colonel nodded slowly at the uncharacteristic declaration. "Do you happen to have an official report of events to support this?"

She stood at attention. "Sir, I regret to inform you that I have just received a career ultimatum. According to Colonel Vong, under USMC guidelines as per order of Congress female soldiers are not to take part in specific branches of the armed forces relating to direct combat. While on assignment to SGC, these policies are suppressed due to the necessity of SG-Team diversity. However, by having a child, state of wedlock inapplicable, that suppression is nullified. Therefore if I wish to remain in active service as a United States Marine, I must accept reassignment."

Colonel Sheppard blinked. "Excuse me?" Robbie shifted in his chair, pulling his knees up to his chin as he listened. This didn't sound good, whatever it meant.

"USMC will not allow me to remain stationed on Atlantis, seeing as all military positions here are classed as frontline and direct combat. By having a legal dependant I am no longer exempt from the gender-blind SGC military policies. Sir."

Colonel Sheppard floundered for a moment. "Female combat restrictions? I thought those were rescinded back in... Um. 1997?" He winced. "That might have been pilot restrictions. I was out of the country a lot." He ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "Do you know if he has any kind of a precedent to base this on? I don't want to lose you, Laura. I know Elizabeth will go to bat for you. There's no such thing as non-combatant in Atlantis. Let me find out what's really going on here." Robbie relaxed, The Colonel would fix whatever was wrong. It was his job. With that assurance, Robbie returned his attention to the console to wait for the adults to finish.

She nodded. "There's one more thing, Sir. According to Earth Equivalencies, I still owe a month of time on my hitch. I probably have enough leave to cover it, but I don't know it they'll let me take it."

Colonel Sheppard nodded sympathetically. "Give me some time to sort out your options here. We'll come up with something. And they can't force a decision before the _Icarus_ leaves, so that buys us some time. I'll see what I can do. Oh, did you and Carson ever get married?"

She blinked. "Um, yes. Sir. About six months ago. Drs. James & McKay witnessed for us. Why?"

"Just want to know what options we've got when I talk to the good Doctor. Thank you, Captain. That will be all for now."

She nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Captain?" She turned questioningly. "You might want to take your little escapist with you."

"Escapist?" She raised her eyebrow before following his gaze. "Robbie! What are you doing here? How did you get out of the nursery? Wait, I don't want to know." She crouched down beside the child who was still working rather feverishly at the schematics on the console. She tapped the pause button and he looked up, startled.

"Mum! Are you done? Can I come with you? _Please_." He threw himself into her arms, talking animatedly about the schematics he and Sarah had cleared in the last hour. She threw an exasperated look at Colonel Sheppard and hoisted Robbie up onto her hip.

"If it's all right with the Colonel, you can come with me to inventory the demolitions ordnance." She turned to Colonel Sheppard, who nodded agreeably.

"It's fine by me. You're dismissed, Captain. Enjoy your inventory. I'll get back to you as soon as I can once I've had time to discuss things with Dr. Weir and see where we stand. I haven't heard much about the negotiations, but I gather things are a bit prickly."

"I'll look forward to hearing from you, Sir. Thank you, Sir."

Robbie looked back over her shoulder as they stepped through the doors and waved at The Colonel and Sarah, who waved back. Then he put his head down on his mum's shoulder. He didn't understand what the problem was, but he knew there was a problem. He decided to try to fix it the best way he knew how.

"Mum, can we go blow some trees up?"

* * *

**James Parrish**

** Son of Dr. David Parrish & Maj. Nick Lorne**

James was just over three years old when he started petitioning for a sibling. The Weir twins were old enough to start talking, and he decided that it would be the best thing ever to have a playmate who was always around. Robbie and Sarah were great, but they weren't always in the nursery when he was.

James plotted his course of action carefully. He started things with the traditional question of choice in these matters, though he didn't know it at the time. "Patra, where did I come from?"

Patra had responded by turning red and mumbling something that James couldn't understand. Patra took a deep breath and promptly announced that he had an inventory to do. Before James could ask what kind of inventory, he was in the nursery. When Daddy came by and picked him up later, he waited an hour before asking. It produced a similar result.

After spending two weeks in the nursery, he concluded that perhaps it was time to change tactics, since this wasn't getting him anywhere. He switched to a more direct line of questions. "Can I have a baby brother? Like Robbie and Tychus, but smaller and genetically related?" and "If I can't have a baby brother, can I have a baby sister? Sarah's not so bad when she wants to be friendly and isn't buried in trig, and Lisa's really good to me, so a girl wouldn't be bad either."

James asked at every opportunity. To his relief, it didn't end him up in the permanent care of the matrenas (Who, to be honest, had been quietly concerned when he'd started spending three days at a stretch in the nursery. There hadn't been a crisis, and normally he spent a good chunk of his time in Hydroponics or his patra's office when the two had overlapping duties).

That particular line of attack lasted four days before Daddy pulled him into one of the storage closets off the Hydroponics Lab, sat him down, and told him to cease and desist. When he'd opened his mouth to protest that he had a _right_ to petition, Daddy had explained that the point had been made. Now it was time for the adults to discuss it. If he would be good for a few weeks, Daddy would discuss the issue seriously with Patra. Then they would discuss it with him. James had nodded, knowing it was as much as he could hope for. Well, there was also the fact that his Daddy looked really tired.

When they returned to quarters that night, his parents went into their room and talked for a long time. James could have listened in, one of the ventilation ducts in the 'living room' came off the same air processor as their bedroom, but it was too much work when he knew what was going on. Later that night they had both looked annoyed, so James didn't know what to make of things.

Over the next few weeks meals in the mess hall were strange, when they managed them. There was a week where something was going on that no one would talk about where he didn't see his parents at all except for the nights. And then Daddy started getting sick and the _Icarus_ arrived and everything became even stranger. After a number of them staged a nursery-break, things returned closer to normal. James spent the nights at home, and meals in the mess were as a family again. At their second shared meal since the _Icarus_ arrived, right when James had started on some of the blue cake, Patra set down his fork and cracked his back as he sat up straight. "All right. I give in. You're right, ok? Can we please move on?"

James frowned, then realized what Patra was talking about. He looked at Daddy, who looked relieved. "I'll talk to Dr. McKay as soon as the _Icarus_ leaves. Thank you, Nick." Daddy reached over and took Patra's hand, squeezing it. James went back to his cake, smiling happily. If he was right, he was going to get a little brother!

The next morning, Daddy had been sick again. This made almost a week of being sick. James knew all about being sick, he'd come down with the Biki Pox the week before his birthday. He'd spent his birthday in the infirmary with Sarah and Robbie, who had also caught it. They weren't released until three days after his birthday, but he had his Rising Ceremony anyway. Aunt Teyla had performed it in Ancient, the language of the ancestors, and James had carefully refrained from correcting her grammar. It was ceremony, Daddy said you didn't change ceremony even if it was wrong.

The memory of being sick stayed with him, though. So when Daddy got sick, James worried. Neither of his parents had gotten sick before, not really. Patra came back from missions and spent time in the infirmary, but that was different. That was hurt, not sick. James didn't want his Daddy to get sick. People died when they got sick.

When Daddy was still sick the next morning, James started getting upset. This was too long to be sick. He pestered Patra to take Daddy to the infirmary, and Patra didn't take much convincing. They dropped Daddy off on the way to the nursery. It was a quiet day; Sarah and Robbie were both missing. James spent the day talking to Mary in Czech, since it was the one that was giving him the most trouble. He couldn't remember the vocabulary like he could in Ancient or English. Patra picked him up again and took him to the mess for dinner. When James asked where Daddy was, Patra informed him that Daddy was asleep at home, so they'd be going to the gym tonight to let Daddy sleep.

Going to the gym meant things like push-ups and sit-ups and if he was really lucky, they'd work with staves. Sarah hated going to the gym, but when she had gym time it was with Uncle Ronon. Her Patra said it "built character." Sarah claimed it was inhuman torture. James had concluded that he'd hate gym time too if he had Uncle Ronon as his instructor. Patra was much kinder about what they had to do. Uncle Ronon didn't believe in giving the kids easier workouts. The words "but I'm a kid" meant nothing. Sarah did the same routine as the marines; the only exception was the running. She did shuttle runs while the marines did six klicks. While she got to learn 2-stick fighting? It only made up for so much.

After they went to the gym, they went home. Daddy still wasn't up, so James showered and changed along with Patra, and settled down with the living room console to read. Patra went in to see if Daddy was feeling better. A few minutes later there was a noise in the hall, and Daddy came out, looking pale. He crouched down next to James and placed a hand on his shoulder. "James, I need you to do something for me. I need you to go down to the nursery and tell the matrena you might be spending the night. Then I need you to stay there until one of us comes to get you. Your father and I need to have a discussion."

James blinked up at him for a moment, then nodded. "All right."

Daddy took his hand away and looked into James' eyes. "Now, what are you supposed to do?"

"Go to the nursery, tell the matrena that I might be there all night, and stay until one of you comes to get me." James dutifully parroted back.

Daddy smiled, and leaned over to place a kiss on his forehead. "Good boy. I'm sorry I can't walk you down, but if I do I have a feeling your father won't be here when I get back." Daddy stood and went back into his room, and James headed to the door. On the way, he stopped by the ventilation panel to hear what they were saying. The voices were muffled, but understandable. Daddy sounded upset.

"Nick, I'm not doing this again. I know we agreed to have another, and I know I was the one who thought it was such a good idea, but I can't do this again." There was a pause, and Patra said something that James couldn't make out. It was Daddy who next spoke loudly enough to hear.

"You weren't here last time, not for the first few months. I was _sick_. I lost fifteen pounds, Nick. We're not talking a little morning sickness here, we're talking unable to eat for two months. And the best part? Is that we don't even know how this happened. Dr. Beckett went through three months worth of scans and away missions. Hell, I don't even go on away missions much anymore. And there was nothing. Until now, when suddenly there is most definitely not 'nothing'."

At that point, James decided he didn't want to hear anymore. He didn't know what they were talking about, but he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. He walked out the door, and headed to Hydroponics. Daddy had asked him to go to the nursery, but they'd never know if he went to play with the plants first. He entered Hydroponics, and was surprised to find someone else already there. It was past the end of Delta Shift; no one was ever around during Alpha Shift. When James got closer, he realized it was one of the marines from the _Icarus_. Because Patra always said to be polite and helpful (as long as they looked human), James walked over and tugged on the man's sleeve. "What are you doing here?"

The marine startled. "Um, I'm lost, actually. Was looking for the residence wing and ended up here. Got kind of distracted."

James nodded. "The vines can do that. When Daddy lets me play in here I talk to them. Sometimes they seem like they're talking back." The marine blinked at him, then looked at the vines again.

"Huh. Really?"

James nodded again. "Daddy says they're semi-sentient. Patra just says they're evil."

The marine grinned. "I guess it's all a matter of perspective." He looked James over, his size registering for the first time. "So why are you here? Not that I'm complaining, but it seems awfully late for a youngster like you to be wandering about."

James hopped up on one of the benches that were scattered around the massive lab. "My dads are having a fight. Daddy told me to go to the nursery, but I'll be the only one there except for the _babies_ so I came here." James nodded authoritatively. "Whatever they're fighting about is Patra's fault, so I have a few hours before they'll come and get me."

The marine blinked. Twice. He seemed to mouth James' last few sentences to himself before shaking his head and focussing on James again. "So you came down here?"

"Yeah. I love the plants. Daddy's a botanist, so he's been teaching me about them when he's on shift and it's all right for me to be here. Sometimes he goes off world like Patra does, but not often."

The marine nodded. "Since we're both here, do you want to show me what some of these plants are called?"

James grinned and dragged the marine over to a plant that looked like a venus flytrap on steroids. "This one hates Patra, it tried to bite him once. It's called..."

Several hours later James had given his new friend, Lt. William Henry, the complete guided tour of Hydroponics. They came to a stop in front of the semi-sentient vines again. "So that's everything. See, they're really quite friendly once you get to know them."

Lt. Henry looked warily at the writhing vines. "I'm going to take your word on that, James."

James smiled. "Patra says that too. He's not much of a plant person, but Daddy loves him anyway. You said that you had to go to the residence hall before, right?"

Lt. Henry nodded. "I was supposed to meet a friend, Lt. Cadman. We were posted together a few years before she came out here. I thought I'd try to catch up."

James frowned in thought. "Do you mean Captain Cadman? Robbie's matra?"

Lt. Henry raised an eyebrow. "Possibly. Is her first name Laura?"

James grinned. "Yup! She lives down the hall from us. She's great, she works with things that go 'boom!'"

"Can you show me where her rooms are? I don't want to disturb her this late, but I would like to find her another time."

James nodded. "Not a problem. And I can probably go home now too, I don't want to get in trouble for being missing for too long. Patra gets cranky about that kind of thing."

James grabbed Lt. Henry's hand and began pulling him out of Hydroponics and to the nearest transporter, chattering all the way about Robbie's mum. The lieutenant just nodded at what seemed the appropriate intervals and tried to reconcile the Laura Cadman James was describing with the Laura Cadman he'd known seven years before.

James led Lt. Henry to Robbie's quarters. "Robbie and his mum are probably asleep, she works Beta Shift and half of Alpha most of the time. Dr. Beckett's in the infirmary. He's always in the infirmary."

Lt. Henry nodded slowly, seeming to debate a question before deciding it wasn't worth the effort. Instead the lieutenant took another look at the doors, attempting to make them distinctive for future reference. He turned to James. "You said you live down the hall? Why don't you show me, and I'll let your parents know you were with an adult while you were gone."

James made a face. "I'm not sure strangers count, but you're a marine. Patra's Air Force, so he might be all right with it." He tugged on Lt. Henry's sleeve and led him down the hallway. They stopped three doors down and James tapped the chime on the door panel. A minute later Patra opened the door. His eyes narrowed as he focussed solely on James.

"James Parrish. What have you gotten into this time? You better not have been insulting people in Russian again. I told you not to listen to Dr. Kirnov when she gets upset." It had the sound of an old and familiar admonishment. When Patra turned to the lieutenant he visibly startled. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I had assumed one of the matrenas was dropping him off again. Seeing as that's not the case; tell me, Lieutenant. How did my son end up in your care?"

James winced and reached up to hold onto Patra's hand. "It's not his fault, Patra. I went down to Hydroponics to watch the vines before I went to the nursery, and Lt. Henry was there and he was lost. He knows Captain Cadman!"

Patra let go of James' hand and hoisted him onto his hip. "That's very nice to volunteer that, James. But I asked the lieutenant."

Lt. Henry straightened to stand more formally at attention. "It's just as the boy says, Major Lorne, Sir. We got to talking about the plants in Hydroponics and lost track of time. I'm sorry, Sir. Had I realized he was supposed to be elsewhere I would have taken him."

James tugged on Patra's shirt to get his attention. "Patra, I'm thirsty."

There was a noise behind the two. James looked over Patra's shoulder and saw Daddy walking over. "Daddy! Can I have some juice?"

Lt. Henry took that as the escape that it was. "Don't let me keep you, Sir. I'll be on my way." He smiled at James. "Good night, James. It's been a pleasure meeting you." Before Patra could respond, the lieutenant was heading down the hallway and was soon out of sight.

* * *

**Lisa Kirnov**

**Daughter of Dr. Elaine Kirnov & Dr. Karen Pulaski**

Everything had happened in a blur once the _Icarus_ arrived. Suddenly there was the option to return to Earth, get away from the Wraith and danger of the unknown. And while Elaine Kirnov may have been thrilled at the prospects for discovery in the Pegasus Galaxy, both she and her partner agreed that the risks were too great for their daughter. Elaine had a friend in the faculty at Northwestern University and called in a favor. It was that simple.

A month later, the family moved back to Earth on the second run of the _Icarus_.

They knew there would be problems with the move, that it would be hard on Lisa. She was only a little over three, her Rising Ceremony only four months past. Atlantis was the only home she'd ever known. But they had faith that she'd adapt. This would be safer for her, and they wanted to give her the chance to grow up without the constant threat of imminent death. Lisa was young enough that as time went by her memories would fade. After all, Col. Sheppard had been just fine living unaware of his ATA gene. Lisa would adjust.

They were one of the only groups to have returned; most of the population feared that if they left they would be unable to return to their glorious city. It was a valid concern, and Elaine understood their reasoning. She'd talked it over with Karen for days before putting in her resignation. Neither she nor Karen had taken to the gene therapy, and they were both biologists - non-essential in the best of times. They did the city itself no harm by leaving. Dr. McKay had been upset at losing two of his staff in a single department at one time, but surprisingly sympathetic to her reasoning. He'd even shocked her by wishing her well and giving her the name of a colleague at Northwestern who could help them get acclimated.

That was the last thing that had gone well, unfortunately. The trip on the _Icarus_ went as well as one could expect with an energetic three year old who wasn't used to being confined to a single room for more than a day or two at a time. Luckily the ship's crew had taken to her, or it would have been a far greater nightmare. Upon arrival on Earth, there had been out-processing. Physicals, updates in world politics, sorting out back-pay, etc. They went through the ringer about three times before SGC finally cleared them to leave and get on with their lives. Elaine had the sneaking suspicion that the government just didn't know what to do with them at this point. She was insanely grateful to have a position waiting for her.

Elaine knew there would be changes. She knew that Atlantis was a small community, on an alien world, where everyone traveled by 'Gate and Puddle Jumper. She just didn't realize how small it really was until they left the military base at Great Lakes and entered the city of Chicago. Lisa had grown silent after the first plane ride, clutching an Athosian doll with one hand and her mother's hand with the other, alternating between Elaine and Karen. The doll had caused a fair amount of dismay on the part of the Earth botanists, and not a few tears on Lisa's side, before it was determined to be seed free and safe for exposure to the Earth ecosystem.

The biggest shock for Elaine, one that was totally unexpected, was the lack of childcare options for a three year old. Suddenly not only did you have to pay for daycare, which wasn't a concern due to four years of back-pay, but it only ran certain hours. It took two days of active searching to find somewhere that would keep a child past 1800. And they closed at 2000, which wasn't much better. She finally settled on the university's in-house drop-in program. It was staffed by international students and early childhood development students and staff, so it had the benefit of quality assurance.

Lisa was still quiet, although she'd nodded in understanding when they'd had the discussion about things we don't talk about with other people. If this kept up, they wouldn't have to worry about her breaching security, they'd just need to get her integration therapy. Dr. Heightmeyer had mentioned that Lisa would need a lot of help adjusting to a new place, but then that was true of all of them. The Air Force had provided the names of several USAF psychiatrists within functional driving distance should any of them need counseling. They weren't willing to trust doctor-patient confidentiality with secrets like the 'Gate Program.

As a result, it was with a healthy dose of concern that Elaine brought Lisa to the university's drop-in center. That anxiety increased when she attempted to leave and Lisa started bawling, clutching at her hand and begging her to take her with her. They had discussed the drop-in center the night before, and Lisa had nodded that she understood that Matra had to work and Mama had a job interview and so she needed to stay at the drop-in center for a few hours. Apparently the discussion had been less than successful.

The manager, an older Chinese woman named Mrs. Changlai, assured Elaine that once she left Lisa would calm down and that the sooner she adjusted the better it would be for everyone. Elaine had nodded, given them her cell number should anything come up, and left to teach her first class.

Elaine wasn't entirely surprised to walk out of her lecture hall and find the 'message waiting' light flashing on her cell phone. She had desperately wanted to believe Mrs. Changlai when she'd said "Don't worry; she'll be smiling by the time you get back. We have a student intern working this afternoon who's just wonderful with the young girls."

Not bothering to actually listen to the message, Elaine cut straight over to the drop-in center on her way to the parking lot. When she entered, she didn't find the screaming child she had feared. In fact, Lisa wasn't anywhere in any of the main play areas. The office door was closed, however, so she hesitantly knocked on the door. When it opened, she found Lisa.

Lisa was sitting on a chair, glaring petulantly at anything and everything. This, Elaine had experience with. Whenever she was chastised for something, Lisa glared. What was unexpected was the university student sitting on the couch in the corner with tearstains on her face. She took a deep breath and entered the office at the manager's behest, taking the unclaimed seat.

"Dr. Kirnov, as you can see we seem to have a bit of a problem here. Your daughter refuses to interact with the other children. That, in and of itself, we can handle. We pride ourselves on accommodating to children's needs. However, what we can not tolerate is abusive treatment of our staff."

Elaine raised an eyebrow. "Mrs. Changlai, what _exactly_ has my daughter done?"

The older woman sighed. "Sveta here," she gestured to the upset student, "is one of our student interns. She happens to be from the Czech Republic, so she can only hold an on-campus position. I tell you this because when she attempted to include Lisa in group activities, your daughter refused. First she spoke quietly in something that none of us could understand, and then louder. She began _cursing_ at Sveta."

Elaine winced.

"In Czech."

Elaine rubbed her temples, a migraine well past starting.

"She's currently refusing to speak English."

Elaine found herself seriously wondering why she had ever left her lab.

"Now, Dr. Kirnov, this is understandable to some degree. We've seen it before in children adapting to new environments. But what is not acceptable is her reducing my best caregiver to tears. I still haven't been able to get Sveta to tell me what Lisa said."

Elaine looked at Lisa and raised her eyebrow. Lisa's expression changed rather quickly to something resembling contrite. "Ma-tra, it's not like I said anything bad. Well, really bad at least. Dr. Z calls the Colonel a insert Czech for Intergalactic Space Prostitute here all the time. I know he doesn't mean anything by it. I didn't say anything that I didn't hear in the labs." Lisa stuck her lower lip out in a pout. When she spoke again, she had shifted to Ancient.

_"I want to go **home**, I don't like it here. There are strangers everywhere, and they speak funny and they write in **Roman Letters**. And it's too cold, and the sun isn't right and the days are too short and the sea isn't the **sea**."_ By now there were tears running down Lisa's face and she had vacated her chair to stand in front of her mother. _"**I want to go home**. I want to feel the city. I'm not Earthborn like you, I'm **Lantean**."_

Elaine pulled the crying girl into her lap, rocking her gently. _"Ssh. I know, Baby. I know. But we're here now. And we can't go back. We have to make the best of it. Ssh."_

Slowly Lisa calmed down, falling asleep against her mother's shoulder. Elaine rose and nodded to Mrs. Changlai. "This won't happen again. It's been a hard few weeks, we're still getting used to things." She glanced over at the student on the couch. "If it helps, she didn't mean it in the sense that you took it. I had a Czech co-worker, and Lisa overheard some things in the labs that she doesn't quite have the context for. I'd appreciate it if both of you would cut her some slack. She's not even used to speaking English all the time, it's a big change."

Mrs. Changlai nodded, questions burning in her eyes that Elaine was terribly grateful remained unasked. "As long as she'll be polite, we'll be pleased to have her. But be assured, the next time this happens you will be getting another call. We can't have this happening on a regular basis, extenuating circumstances or not."

Elaine nodded. "Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me?" She turned, left the drop-in center, and then walked the short distance to the faculty parking. She strapped Lisa into her car seat, then slid in behind the steering wheel and let her head land upon it. This wasn't what she signed on for. In so many ways. And she had no illusions about the possibility of undoing their decision. She'd been honest when she told Lisa that they couldn't go back. There was no way the military would grant them clearance to Atlantis again, even if she and Karen decided that the Wraith were a fair trade-off. The military still controlled the 'Gate on this end.

After a moment of reflection Elaine started the car and began the commute back to the new house, hoping Karen would be home by the time they arrived. She needed to talk to someone who understood what was going on in her brain right now, and there were woefully few of them on the planet. At a red light she watched her sleeping daughter in the rearview mirror and wondered how long until she was no longer a stranger in a strange land.

Addendum:  
Excerpt from the Classified Section of the Chicago Sun Times

**WANTED:**  
Caretaker for precocious 3 y/o.  
Must provide references and have flexible schedule.  
Must not speak any of the following languages:  
_ s Africaans, Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Hindustani,  
Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Punjabi, Russian,  
Spanish, Swahili, Zulu /s _  
**Wanted: Deaf, Mute Nanny.**

* * *

**Katerina & Natasja Weir**

**Fraternal twin daughters of Dr. Elizabeth Weir & Dr. Radek Zelenka**

Elizabeth Weir was a pacifist, at least in theory. Most of her professional training had been in conflict resolution: she was a negotiator. Prior to involvement with the SGC, she had always assumed that anything could be solved (or at least made better) with words. It was a comforting thought. It had also gone out the window upon her arrival in the Pegasus Galaxy.

The Pegasus Galaxy had opened her eyes to any number of things. It had shown her the horrors of war with an unthinkable enemy, it had shown her the struggles of basic survival, and it had given her opportunities she had thought long since past. It had taught her that some things were worth protecting, no matter the cost. This city and what they had built here was once of those things; and she would be damned if she would let the US military come in and take it all away from them.

She powered down her laptop and checked her desk one final time in preparation for her meeting with Col. Vong, the commander of the _Icarus_. When Lt. Campbell announced the man's arrival, she took a deep breath and steadied her nerves. She was distracted, however, by the sound of rustling. As she turned to find the source, she let out a quiet groan. 'Tasja was chewing on print-outs again. Elizabeth had debated dropping the twins of in the nursery before her meeting, but between one thing and another she'd barely seen them all week and hadn't been able to bring herself to do it. They were well behaved toddlers, she'd never had a problem with them staying quiet during meetings. It was only since the _Icarus_ had arrived and demanded _honest to god **hardcopy**_ of essential paperwork that a problem had developed. Both girls, although 'Tasja in particular, had taken one look at the printed paper and decided that they'd found the best thing ever. Much to Elizabeth's consternation, she had thus far been unable to break them of their fondness for ink.

She rescued the latest batch of paperwork from the twins and stood up just as the door opened. "Colonel. Please, have a seat." She gestured to one of the chairs opposite her desk and crossed to take her own seat, laying the rumpled papers on her desk. "Before we get started I want to apologize for not having done this earlier. You arrived while we were in the midst of negotiations with the Genii, and I could not afford to delay those proceedings."

The colonel nodded in understanding. "Of course. We were, after all, unexpected."

Elizabeth's lips quirked in a wry smile. "You could say that. Col. Carter told us that Earth would be sending a negotiating team in a week; she failed to mention they would arrive on a battlecruiser."

Col. Vong studied the piece of pottery on her desk, avoiding her eyes. "I believe that makes us even, Doctor. We hadn't been aware you were expecting us or we would have handled things a bit differently."

"It seems SGC withheld information on both our ends, hardly surprising. On that note, what exactly are your orders with regards to my city?" She leaned forward on her desk, studying him as he prepared to answer.

Col. Vong shifted uncomfortably in his seat, obviously aware that he was walking into a mine field. "My orders were to investigate claims that the Atlantis Expedition had survived; if we found survivors we are to stabilize the situation and escort any command staff back to Earth for a debriefing. I have a more specific listing of reassignments for your military personnel."

Elizabeth studied him for a moment, then leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed. "No."

She was gratified to see the colonel blink. "I'm sorry?"

"I said 'no,' Colonel. As in 'No, you are not taking control of this city; no, you are not taking my senior staff back to Earth for 'debriefing'; and no, you are not reassigning the military members of this city.' Is any of that unclear?"

"Now wait just a minute, Ma'am-"

"I'm not finished. I've been getting reports from Colonel Sheppard and various other personnel about your 'reassignments.' These reassignments would not only strip the city of needed personnel, but they are morally unconscionable. Let me tell you a story that might help to put this in perspective for you." She looked down at the pile of papers on her desk and started absently smoothing them.

"Once there was a group of explorers. They found the gateway to a city of legend, something that they would give up anything to study. And they did. They went off to this brave new world knowing that they might never see their families or friends again. Not long after arriving in this mythic land, they woke a great enemy, an enemy so terrible that it held an entire galaxy in its grasp. They fought this enemy bravely, but it was too strong. So they tossed a message in a bottle through the gateway that had brought them to their new world. Someone found that bottle, and they sent help. Suddenly the explorers were not alone anymore, they had supplies and newcomers who arrived on a ferry.

"Then one day, Colonel, the ferry stopped coming. No message, no warning; it was just gone. And they hoped and prayed that it would return, but it didn't. A year went by. Two. And the explorers, being practical above all else, realized that there would be no going home. They spent a year learning how to live alone again; and then they begin to build. They built families and friendships and alliances. The enemy that was the terror of a thousand worlds is weakened and driven back. The explorers find that life is good, even if it is hard.

"After almost four long years, Colonel, the ferry comes back." She looked up and caught his gaze, and she knew he had not missed her point. "What would you tell them, Colonel? Would you tell them to trust the people who left them to die? To leave the families they have formed and go back to a world that is only a memory?"

He winced under her gaze, and she could tell that he didn't want to believe his people had left Atlantis to rot. Finally he took a deep breath and spoke again. "Doctor, I honestly don't know what happened when you were cut off. I appreciate that you had it rough, I really do. But I have my orders."

She sighed. "I understand that, Colonel. But what I'm telling you is that you're going to have to pick and choose your battles. Let me make this simple. I have no problem with anyone who wants to move back to Earth leaving; I have a problem with forcing people to leave. Atlantis isn't for everyone, and we each have to make our own decisions. However, I want my people to have the time and information to make that decision intelligently. I want it to be a choice. We have expedition members who have married into the local population; some of them have children. Do you want to tell Cameron Akeilo that his father can't see him again because he's been reassigned indefinitely to Earth, and once his tour's up if he leaves the marines he doesn't have clearance to use the 'Gate? Cameron is _four._ And he's the eldest. I don't want these men and women being forced to chose between their families and a dishonorable discharge. They've given too much for that. They deserve better."

"Dr. Weir, I'm not quite sure what you want me to do here. I was given specific orders with regards to each member of the expedition. Some of them have finished their hitches, but a number haven't. You have marines that owe the US government service. You expect me to ignore that?"

"I expect you to look at the bigger picture, Colonel. And if you can't do that then I expect you to at least convey my requests to your superiors. In the meantime, I am informing you that none of the residents of this city will be departing against their will. As of Earth equivalent 0900 EST, November 1, 2011, this planet is declaring its independence from all Earth agencies. All residents of more than two years are granted full citizenship if they so wish, and the rights and privileges associated with that status." She handed him a flash drive. "This contains a list of all members of our population who have chosen to accept dual citizenship with Atlantis and their country of origin. Anyone on that list is not going back to Earth with you this time around. The drive also contains a treaty proposal to solidify this planet's formal ties with Earth. We have a vessel capable of intergalactic transit currently under repair; when it is completed the senior staff will travel to Earth to meet with the SGC and relevant parties. Not before."

The colonel nodded slowly, then spoke."I understand your position, Dr. Weir, and I sympathize, but are you certain that this isn't a bit over the top? As you stated, you have children and civilians here. _You're_ a civilian. Is this how you want your families to live, if you have the choice? I saw a four year old handling a P-90 yesterday. A _P-90_. This is a war zone, not a preschool. Children and spouses don't belong here." In a sudden change of mood his eyes were now flashing, his voice more forceful as he warmed to his topic. The unspoken 'you don't belong here' clear.

Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond when the lights started flashing along with the paperweight on her desk. With a groan she rose from her seat and picked up Katerina, who had been watching the conversation with interest and was now looking upset. 'Tasja was still involved in her latest batch of hardcopy documents, and at this point Elizabeth was just fine with that. She soothed Kat as she returned to her chair behind the desk, and the lights slowly returned to normal. Once things resumed their normal function she returned her attention to the Colonel.

"You don't have to tell me that it's dangerous here, Colonel. My daughters were born during the last of the heavy bombardments. Kat here," she stroked the girl's hair, "took to the gene therapy abnormally. She gets upset and any Ancient technology in a ten foot radius starts acting up. She can't go more than a few hours without contact with the technology, some kind of a chemical dependency. 'Tasja's gene therapy didn't take at all. Half the children in this city were born under unusual circumstances in one way or another. And those with the gene, inherited or artificial, have a connection to the city that those of us without it can never understand. I won't deny my daughter the opportunity to grow into all that she can be, and I won't let anyone else do that either."

The colonel opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again. He sighed. "I will do what I can. Given your new 'legal' status, and the unknown nature of your official ties with Earth, the _Icarus_ will dispense humanitarian aid in the form of medical supplies, foodstuffs, and basic dry goods. Your requests will be relayed to the SGC. That's all I can promise you."

Elizabeth smiled calmly. "That's all we're asking. You will have hardcopy of all documents dealing with the city's status as well as those choosing to accept citizenship before you depart." She rose and offered her hand. "It was good doing business with you, Colonel."

The colonel frowned and contemplated her outstretched hand a moment before accepting the offer and shaking it. "Good day, Doctor Weir." He turned and walked out of her office.

Once the doors closed behind him she allowed herself to slump down into her chair in a pose Sheppard would be proud of. She was roused from her musing when her daughter poked her cheek. "It's ok, Mama. They'll go away soon." Elizabeth laughed softly.

"Yes they will, dear. Now, let's see what your sister has been up to over here." She stood and walked over to the pile of paper that her other daughter had been slowly working her way through. When she got a look at the printing on the pages she stifled a groan.

The first, newly minted, carefully hand-scripted Atlantean Citizenship Certificates were no more.

Finis


	3. Captain's Log

_**Ripples in the Space Between**_

**II.a. Captain's Log**

(From the Files of Col. J. T. Vong)

* * *

**October 17, 2011**

**Captain's Log**

All is quiet on the outer rim. We have concluded our tour of Tau'ri controlled space and are heading back to Earth. Lt. Kroeger informs me that the engines are performing well within expectations. The upgrades installed last dry-dock have increased our hyperdrive performance an additional 7 beyond the initial projections.

We have encountered no hostile activity this tour. Everyone seems to be licking their wounds, too absorbed in internal strife to bother us.

ETA Earth : 5 days.  
- JTV

**Personal Log**

Today marks the first day of my second year as commanding officer here on the _Icarus_. At times I can't believe a year has gone by so quickly, at others it seems an age. She's my first true command, and she's been a good ship. It's been dead as a doornail out here on the edge of friendly space; it makes me worry that trouble is brewing. It is not a pleasant feeling.  
- JTV

* * *

**October 19, 2011**

**Captain's Log**

We received an urgent dispatch from Earth at 0640. Our new orders are to alter course and travel to the Pegasus Galaxy. We are to confirm or deny rumors of survivors from the Atlantis Expedition, lost over 3 years ago. Should we find anyone, we are to stabilize the situation and transport any surviving command staff to Earth for debriefing. There is little of note in the ship's archives regarding the Atlantis Expedition, only an initial mission statement, personnel manifest, and a footnote that loss of contact occurred in late March, 2008, Goa'uld involvement suspected.

The crew is understandably upset that their leave is being rescheduled, but there have been no formal complaints. The new hyperdrive system continues to perform above expectations. Both fighter wings conducted routine training drills in hyperspace combat.

ETA Last reported whereabouts of Atlantis Expedition: 6 Days.  
- JTV

**Personal Log**

You would think that by now I would have learned not to tempt fate. 3 days out from Earth and leave, and we're re-routed to look into the mythical Atlantis Expedition. Until this came up, I didn't even know it was a legit SGC endeavor; it was one of a dozen urban legends that made the rounds of the mess on a regular basis. Somebody knew somebody who had a friend on the Atlantis Expedition and never came back. That kind of thing. And when I pulled up the mission profile/reports on the Expedition, we've got the mission statement, an initial personnel listing, and some notes about a species titled the "Wraith", who sound far too much like a cliché to be real.

The orders from SGC included an updated personnel listing. Essentially, a list to check the dead bodies against, as far as I can tell. That was _it_, though. No mission reports, no explanation for the loss of contact aside from a footnote about potential Goa'uld involvement. I've put in a request for more information, but Sgt. Keller informs me that we will be out of communication range before a response can reach us.

I don't have my hopes up for finding survivors. Three years is a long time to go it alone, and that's without an enemy attempting to blow you out of existence (Even if their descriptions do seem a bit far-fetched). At this point, we don't know if _anything_ lives in the Pegasus Galaxy.

As news of this has filtered down to the crew, the reaction has been mixed. It turns out we have several crewmen aboard who had connections to members of the missing expedition. A pool has started regarding what we'll find; it's morbid, but it's also to be expected. Points of wager include percentage of population remaining, method of demise, and whether or not cannibalism has occurred. I don't know what to expect. And I seriously hope this isn't someone's idea of a practical joke; a year in is too late to be pulling this kind of s shit /s thing.

I will note, that something about this scans _wrong._ There's not enough data on the original expedition; among the crewmen who knew expedition members, there are claims of acquaintances being assigned out there as late as three and a half years ago. I don't know what to make of it; I'm hoping that we'll find survivors, but my gut says otherwise.  
- JTV

* * *

**October 25, 2011**

**Captain's Log**

Contact with Atlantis Expedition established.

2 recon teams were dispatched, 1 made positive contact. Population meets, possibly exceeds the data we were provided. Shall begin formal investigation of the situation and supply transfer tomorrow. All of my crew should be done with the city-imposed quarantine by then.  
- JTV

**Personal Log**

It has been 16 hours since we entered 'Atlantis' airspace; 19 hours since we exited hyperspace. This is not what I expected.

Upon entering planetary orbit we detected signs of settlement on the single continent as well as the 'city' itself. I ordered 2 recon teams dispatched to determine if anyone was still alive and functioning under their own free will (as opposed to Goa'uld influence).

The team ordered to investigate the mainland came up empty. Evidence of recent habitation, but no living residents.

Team 2 was beamed directly into the city, and split into two sub-groups to cover more ground. Team 2A encountered the natives first and scared the hell out of my comms officer. As a result we all listened to the 3-man team as they were taken into custody by a group of teenagers. I don't think they're ever going to live that down. Team 2B had it almost as bad; they stumbled upon a nursery and were detained by a pair of baby-sitters. Not our finest day.

After two hours of rather tense negotiation we managed to get everything more or less sorted out and were given permission to land on one of their piers. This was followed by an armed escort to the infirmary and more medical tests than I knew existed. I have been subjected to MRI, CT scan, blood work, you name it and I had it done. We all did. They refused to release us from quarantine until all their testing was completed and we'd been given a round of immunizations. I think I now understand how alien visitors to SGC feel.

When they finally released us I was escorted to see Dr. Weir. Apparently there was some kind of miscommunication and they weren't expecting any kind of contact from Earth until tomorrow, so I was promptly assigned a Major Lorne as an escort for a tour of the city and dismissed. I've never been summarily dismissed that quickly in my life. I can understand why SGC thought someone would need to stabilize the outpost. Apparently Lt. Colonel Sheppard can't be trusted to watch a pen of chickens, much less run a major military organization. It certainly fits with his record.

Major Lorne was rather preoccupied during our initial tour. Neither the head of sciences nor Sheppard were available for introduction. The Major showed me the transporter system, 'Gateroom, training rooms and personnel quarters. I was surprised by how much of the population appears to be native; half of the security patrols we passed were made up of men and women with strange accents and dressed in non-military garb. I asked Lorne about it, but he didn't give me a very clear answer. He was rather uncommunicative in general. I have hopes that he'll give me a better perspective on the situation tomorrow when I am to see the city in its entirety as opposed to the short version.

I suspect it is going to be a very interesting week or two.  
- JTV

* * *

**October 26, 2011**

**Captain's Log**

Following medical screening and immunizations my crew have begun integrating into the city for the duration of our stay. This will give the life support systems a break and allow routine maintenance which would otherwise wait for dry dock. The expedition members have graciously allocated a floor in one of the residence wings for our use.

I have assigned Sgt. Stevens from Engineering to act as liaison with the science departments in the city. This has been a fortuitous choice since over 30 crewmen had begun showing signs of a native pathogen, having received immunization too late to be effective against the airborne virus.

I am holding off on decisions regarding how much of our spare weaponry, medical, and food inventory to authorize for city use until I am able to gain a better understanding of their current situation.  
- JTV

**Personal Log**

I find that the more I learn about the Atlantis Expedition, the less makes sense.

Major Lorne escorted me on a detailed tour of the city today, including the science labs and armory. I spent half of our time together attempting to get situation updates on various aspects of the city. He was remarkably distracted. I often found myself needing to repeat questions before I would get a response. This in addition to a general refusal to discuss the city's armaments or population make up. The only time I got a strong reaction from him was when I commented on the foolishness of having children in a city that was so obviously a target. He became remarkably defensive . I shall need to check his personnel file, I hadn't been aware that any of the expedition members had dependants of any kind.

The high integration level appears to have had at least some benefit to the city's population, even if it has had the obvious side effect of lower than acceptable general discipline. On our tour I was introduced to a native named Ronon Dex. He was holding a training session for expedition marines. An incredible fighter. I grew up around martial arts, and I don't think I'd want to take him on. I didn't recognize any of what he was teaching the marines.

I have also had the misfortune to meet the head of the expedition's science department. Dr. Rodney McKay is insane. I am sure the man is brilliant, his personnel file at least indicates such, but I have trouble believing that his department staff haven't killed him yet. I was treated to a five minute diatribe on what exactly he wanted from our supplies and where we could shove the rest of it. Upon return to the _Icarus_ I designated the first engineer I saw to act as Science Liaison. I'm not doing that again.

I still have not met Lt. Colonel Sheppard. He was on the mainland today, and unavailable. I am beginning to suspect that he is avoiding me. I also have been unable to arrange a meeting with Dr. Weir, who was off planet for much of the day. I did, however, convince Major Lorne to take me out in one of their smaller craft, they call them _Puddle Jumpers._ Wonderful little things.

I am beginning to suspect that our appearance is not as welcome as I had assumed. Conversations cease when I walk into a room; answers are terse and just this side of polite. I don't understand this city-wide cold shoulder; it makes me nervous. And why wouldn't they welcome news of home and supplies? The doctor's the only one who's been pleasant, smiling as he rattled off a list of supplies he needed as soon as possible. For this I am grateful. Fully a third of my crew put off receiving immunizations, and as a result have come down with a local virus. Non-lethal, but they'll be out of commission for 3-5 days according to Dr. Beckett.

Nothing is going well.  
-JTV

* * *

**October 29, 2011**

**Captain's Log**

Negotiations still have not progressed. In the interim, I have authorized the transfer of what medical supplies and foodstuffs we can spare. We did not have enough time prior to our change in course to resupply, so the surpluses are lower than normal.

Repairs and maintenance upon the _Icarus_ are proceeding on schedule, she will be ready for the return trip in 3 days time.

I have assigned a battalion of marines to aid in general city defenses for the duration of our stay, but I am receiving reports of clashes between my people and the expedition members. We have had one major brawl thus far, resulting in nine _Icarus_ crewmen in the infirmary and another four in the brig. Five locals were detained and another one was sent to the infirmary.

I have begun meetings with individual military members of the expedition regarding reassignment. It is not going well.  
- JTV

**Personal Log**

I quit. Honestly, if it were an option I would hand this mess over to someone else. Dr. Weir is still unavailable for a meeting, Colonel Sheppard has finally agreed to meet with me tomorrow, the damn 27 hour day is driving me crazy (we've only been here 3 days, local time), and not only do my crewmen get into a brawl (Given the attitudes of the locals, it was bound to happen) but they _lose._ Badly.

A little misbehavior is one thing, but we're talking about the honor of the ship here. One of the locals who got taken down to their holding cells? Was all of five feet tall and a hundred pounds. A scientist. She took out two of my marines with a stick. Another was a five year old girl. Sarah McKay incapacitated one of my top force recon marines and an engineer, yet managed to avoid going on the official report because no one wants to tell her father. This is embarrassing.

Wounded pride aside, things are a mess. The only thing that the expedition members have been willing to be social about has been media. Yesterday a group of local scientists ganged up and scoured the _Icarus_ for Earth media of any sort. They found a few sympathetic souls in the process and there has been a mass downloading effort in effect ever since. I was puzzled to hear one of the locals asking about a character on the latest season of _Wormhole X-Treme: Dimension X_, but it is possible I missed the context. There's no way they could know current television trends and shows.

In all other fields, there is no interaction outside of clearly defined duty. My people are keeping exclusively to themselves, and the expedition members are pretending we're not here. I've encouraged those crewmen with ties to the expedition to renew old acquaintances, but as luck would have it all of them came down with the local flu and are due to be released tomorrow. I hope it's a turning point. I really don't want to hear that we got our asses kicked again.  
- JTV

* * *

**October 30, 2011**

**Captain's Log**

Meetings with the expedition military personnel proceed. I have interviewed over half the military population at this time. No one is very forthcoming. I have had two instances of insubordination worthy of being written up. In both cases, Lt. Colonel Sheppard has interceded on the offender's behalf.

I have finally met with the city's RMO, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard. He is not at all what I expected. He has also confirmed some of the more disturbing rumors that have been circulating among the _Icarus_ crew. I find I do not know how to proceed in this matter. I shall bring it up with Dr. Weir. I am scheduled to meet with her tomorrow.

The maintenance continues on schedule.

ETA Departure to Earth: 3 days.  
-JTV

**Personal Log**

There have been rumors, ever since we landed, about the relaxed rules in the city. It's inevitable when you're cut off for a long period of time that certain regulations will be impractical to enforce.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a pain at the best of times, a farce at the worst. So I can understand how it could be quietly overlooked after contact to Earth was severed. But the way Sheppard slouched in his chair and drawled "Yeah, we do things a bit differently out here." when I brought up my concerns regarding Major Lorne living and raising a child with a male botanist made me want to smack him. The Major had a promising career, unlike Sheppard. Lorne _wasn't_ on his last chance. There is a difference between looking the other way and moving beyond willful ignorance.

Of course, it was at this point in the conversation that Dr. McKay (God, that man is obnoxious) burst into Sheppard's office and placed his daughter on Sheppard's desk. Dr. McKay muttered something about damned genetics and stomped back out before I really understood what was going on. This was the very same girl who put one of my top marines in the infirmary. Just to drive the nail into the coffin, she proceeded to turn to the Lt. Colonel and call him 'Daddy.' I now understand why they don't enforce out here. Apparently they frown on hypocrisy.

This also gives me concerns for not only my orders to bring back any senior staff, but reintegrating the population as a whole. I spent fifteen minutes arguing with a Captain this afternoon, attempting to make her understand why a move back to Earth would not be a bad thing for her son. In the same vein, it occurs to me that every single member of the senior staff has a child. Not one, not even two members. All of them. I would have to get into the NCOs before I find a member of the expedition who doesn't have a child. Which raises another issue.

These children are being raised in extraordinary circumstances. Sarah McKay's dispatch of my marine being a perfect example. How do you integrate a child who knows ten ways to kill with her bare hands into a normal preschool?  
-JTV

* * *

**October 31, 2011**

**Captain's Log**

I have met with Dr. Weir. It seems that the Atlantis Expedition have decided to remove themselves from Earth jurisdiction. The engine maintenance should be completed on schedule in the morning. Once they are completed we will be departing for Earth.

We will have no passengers. While my orders were to escort any surviving senior staff to Earth for debriefing, I find that under the current circumstances it is not advisable or even feasible. We will ferry documents regarding a proposed alliance with Earth, but the senior staff are unwilling to abandon the city without guarantee of return. They have proposed a meeting in six months when their own hyperspace capable ship is operational. Meanwhile, I have been given permission to return with new personnel should the SGC decide to station them in the Pegasus Galaxy.

I cannot deny, I will be glad to be gone from this place. While what occurred here was far better than we had feared, I believe the Atlantis Expedition is lost to us just the same.  
-JTV

**Personal Log**

Dr. Weir is a force of nature. Even six hours later, I cannot remember exactly what I agreed to before leaving her office.

She has made it very clear both what she thinks of Earth and my orders. If what she told me about their past history with Earth is even partially true, I can't say that I blame her. Atlantis has declared itself a free state, its population almost double what it was when the _Daedalus_ disappeared. There was not a single expedition member who did not voluntarily sign on for citizenship, which means that it must have been pretty bad.

Having spent a week here, it's a beautiful city. The great enemy that everyone refers to, the Wraith, appear to have been pushed back in recent years. As Dr. Weir said, life is good here even if it is hard. While that is true, I find myself wondering what life is like here on a normal week. Even as preparations have begun for our departure, the local population has not warmed to us. There are glares in the mess, and I think if we remained another week there would be more residents in the brig. On both sides.

In addition to the official paperwork about the planet's status relating to Earth, we are going to be carrying three years of mission reports, scientific discoveries, and death notices. We also carry some several thousand hardcopy missives intended for the families and friends of expedition members.

On a more personal note, this situation deeply concerns me. Despite the obvious distrust, there is hope in the eyes of a lot of the 'Earthborn', as they've taken to referring to themselves. Hope that this time they won't be abandoned, and a need to ensure that their lives are in their own hands if they are. What does it say about the SGC that we cut them off so quickly before? What does that say about our future?

I have a lot to think about on the trip home. I think we all do.  
-JTV


	4. BAND Camp

**_Ripples in the Space Between_**

**III. B.A.N.D. Camp**

* * *

**Sarah McKay (Age 17)**

Sarah McKay was not an idiot.

She was, in point of fact, technically a genius. She had been known to utter the phrase "I will kill you with my brain" on more than one occasion in her childhood. She was a natural born 'gene-kid', one of those who interacted with the city of Atlantis on an almost instinctive level. What all of this meant in practice, was that it was next to impossible to get her to do something she didn't want to.

This did quite a lot to explain why she was standing in the Atlantis 'Gateroom with a petulant look on her face and a duffel at her feet, still arguing with her father.

"Papa, I don't _want_ to go. It's an idiotic idea. Why do I have to learn how to behave on Earth? I've been there. I don't _want_ to live there. I don't even want to go to school there."

Dr. Rodney McKay didn't look terribly thrilled to be having the discussion either. "Sarah, we've been through this. In private. You're going because you have to go to an Earth school to get your PhD. And you have to get your PhD before you get to decide where you want to live."

She stomped her foot. "That's not _fair_. Daddy doesn't have a PhD. He runs the entire military just fine without one. You're just being mean." She crossed her arms and glared around the 'Gateroom. Her gaze paused on her father, on the upper level with Captain Campbell, but she knew better than to try to drag him into this. He looked up, feeling her gaze, and shook his head at her. Nope. No help there.

Dr. McKay, meanwhile, was getting seriously fed up with the whole business. "Yes, your father is such a wonderful example in these circumstances. However, even allowing for his suicidal heroic years, he still managed to get a masters. Which you have not. Graduate school is not open for discussion, my dear. Therefore neither is this. It's four weeks. You'll survive." He picked up her duffel and shoved it into her arms. "Suck it up. You will go. You will learn stupid things with idiots, you will be polite about it, and they will let you go to graduate school. Then you can come home and bitch all you want."

She opened her mouth to respond, but her words were lost in the sound of 'Gate activation. She shot her papa a final glare before shouldering her duffel and trudging despondently towards the event horizon along with her fellow victims. Robbie shot her a smile, but she ignored it. She might have to do this, but she wasn't going to be happy about it.

_This_ referred to Basic Acclimation & Non-Disclosure Camp. BAND Camp was the brain child of the SGC sociologists, concerned about the psychological trauma of moving teenagers to another planet, and the US Department of Defense, concerned about compromising the integrity of the Stargate Program. It was essentially a four week crash course in how to pass for a native Earther. It was mandatory for all children who had spent more than 10 years on a planet other than Earth who wished to enter any Earth academic or civilian institution.

Sarah McKay thought it was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard of. And that included Cameron's theory on time travel. She was still of this opinion when she stepped through the 'Gate and arrived on Epsilon 3, one of the SGC's off-world training facilities. She'd laughed really hard when she'd first read the information. Then she'd realized she was expected to _attend_.

Epsilon 3 was a normal forested world: blue skies, green trees, and aerial patrols cruising by at regular intervals. She paused a moment to study the patrol craft, then frowned. F-302's were _ancient_, and not in the good way. Robbie poked her in the back in response to the hold up, and she glared back at him before proceeding down the path to the waiting adults.

They were greeted by Colonel McKenzie, the man in charge of the project. After doing an attendence check he escorted them to a mess in one of the larger buildings of the compound. Apparently the Earth Alpha Site kids had gotten there first and staked out the back half of the mess. Sarah glared at the first one she saw on principle. It had been that kind of a day. She stalked over to one of the tables and tossed her backpack at the floor before sitting down and removing her half-size tablet. The rest of the Atlantis children followed her lead, and she ended up sharing her mid-room table with Robbie and Cameron. The rest of them settled nearby. Activating her tablet, she set about making a serious effort to ignore the welcome speaker. James would tell them later if there had been anything good, and she had far more important things to do with her time.

When he'd first been taking the route of attempted bribe, Papa had offered her a set of proofs to play with while she was gone. It hadn't worked, but she'd demanded the compensation anyway. He'd grumbled a lot, but Dad had smacked him and he'd handed them over.

Right around the time she became really engrossed in the work, Robbie tapped her shoulder. She shrugged him off, only to have him shake her. Without even looking up she caught his hand and twisted his arm, making him squawk. It didn't deter him, however, and he leaned over and hissed at her in Ancient. _"Sit up, the colonel's calling your name."_ She blinked and sat up straighter, looking around.

"Sarah McKay? I know you're here, you logged in at the 'Gate."

Sarah sighed and raised her hand. "Over here."

The instructor walked over and handed her a folder, then continued his list of names. "Parrish, James"

James, who was sitting at the next table, raised his hand and muttered under his breath. Sarah looked down at the folder she had been given and began to poke around at it. It was blue, with her name printed in black on the upper left corner: "McKay, Sarah S." She opened it and found leaves of paper. _Hardcopy_. The idiots were wasting good hardcopy on something like this. Her opinion of the SGC dropped another notch.

She heard a quiet round of clapping from the Alpha Site kids and looked up, her eyebrows raised. What a strange behavior; she normally associated it with ritual sacrifices. She glanced over at Robbie to share the confusion, but he was staring at the front of the room. She followed his gaze and blinked. That was Lisa. She was sure that was Lisa. She hadn't seen Lisa since she was four. She poked Robbie, but got no response. She poked him harder, still nothing. He was actively staring at the girl at the front of the room. Sarah gave up and settled back in her seat to watch the proceedings.

The colonel was speaking again. "I'd like to introduce all of you to Lisa Kirnov, she's here to teach you about teenaged culture in Western nations." Lisa gave a half-hearted wave, her attention on the Atlantis section of the seating. "Now, we're going to take a five minute break, and then we'll give you sleeping and class schedule assignments. I'd like you to take the time to introduce yourselves."

The colonel stepped back from the podium and gave the universal 'talk amongst yourselves' gesture. Lisa slowly made her way toward the Atlantis contingent, obviously hesitant. Sarah took one look at the Alpha Site kids and decided that just wasn't happening. She saw Kat and 'Tasja making their way over, and James was making indecisive noises, so she considered the Atlantis contingent's obligations met. She watched Lisa approach the table and cocked her head. _"Oy, Kirnov. Long time no see."_

Lisa's eyes snapped over to Sarah and a real smile crept onto her face. She responded in kind, the Ancient coming easily even after so many years. The Alpha Site kids had stopped their chatter and were watching curiously.

_"Long time yourself, Sarah."_ Lisa thought for a moment. _"Kill anyone with your brain lately?"_

Robbie snickered, and even Sarah had to smile. "Nah, I let people who are less important kill the idiots." Sarah paused, remembering the girl from the nursery and trying to reconcile her with the teen in front of her. "What happened to you? You went to Earth and you vanished. We missed you."

Lisa took the open seat next to Robbie and shrugged. "Matra and Mama moved to Chicago. I had to go too. When Mama tried to move back SGC said no. That was before the new immigration stuff started going through." Lisa's face saddened. "I begged to go home for years, I didn't realize it wasn't an option."

Sarah tried to think of something to say, but Robbie beat her to it. He gave Lisa a one armed hug. "We really did miss you. But you're here, so you must have security clearance now. Are you coming home?"

Lisa shrugged. "In a few years, probably. Matra said I have to wait until I'm 18 before I can leave on my own, and she's not moving again. She and Mama like their lives at this point. They don't miss the city like I do." She brushed her temples and the all nodded in understanding. They were cut off from any further discussion by Col. McKenzie's voice coming from the front of the room.

"All right. Now that you've had a chance to get to know each other, let's talk about sleeping arrangements." He indicated the map of the grounds on the wall behind him. "As you can see, we have 3 primary structures: Staff Housing, the Hangar, and the Primary Instruction Halls. You are in the Primary Instruction Hall. This is where you will take your meals and gather for the evening sessions. Most day sessions will also be held here. There are a number of smaller structures as well. Two of these are residence halls." He pointed to specific structures on the map. "Hall A, here, will be housing the males. Hall B, here, will be female housing. As you are all under 18, the structures will remain gender segregated with the exception of the main lounges. Those are co-ed. Room assignments are in your folders, as are your class schedules for the first week. You will be split into two mixed groups for the day sessions to promote socialization. The evening sessions will be conducted as a single group. Are there any questions?"

Sarah shook her head instinctively, still trying to sort out the gender-based housing requirements. Giving up on inherent comprehension she raised her hand and saw her fellow 'Lanteans relax since someone else was asking the question they all had. "Why do we have separate buildings? Wouldn't it be more efficient to have all the students in one structure?"

The colonel paused, obviously baffled by her question. "We house male and female students separately to prevent unauthorized fraternization. It's SOP when dealing with populations under 18."

Sarah frowned at him. "Why? I mean if we get unexpected bombardment it increases the number of viable targets, never mind being a waste of construction materials. Don't you have social controls dictating appropriateness of fraternization? Why wouldn't those be sufficient?"

The colonel rubbed the bridge of his nose and Robbie snickered. "This is how it is. Now, are there any _other_ questions?" He looked around the room. "Good. Your schedule of classes is in your folders. Please report for the evening session, **What Classified Means To You**, at 1900 following dinner. Thank you."

Sarah grumbled under her breath in Czech as they were escorted to the residence halls. This was going to be a long month.

After finding her allotted room and bed, Sarah changed into a training skirt and tank top and went off to find the gym. She needed to beat something up. A lot. Maybe someone, even. She poked her head into the room the twins had congregated in to let them know where she was going, then found her way to the gym.

To her good fortune, Sarah was not the first there. One of the Alpha Site kids, something Jones, was running a kata with a wooden sword. Sarah grinned. She hadn't had the chance to spar with someone new in almost a year. She grabbed a couple of suitable looking sticks from the armaments rack and began running through her warm-up exercises. Since they were the same set she'd been doing since the age of three, she let her mind wander and watched her potential opponent. By the time she finished, she'd concluded that he wasn't bad. Oh, he showed a lack of variety in styles, but reasonably good execution. She casually wandered over to his side of the mats. "Jones, right?"

He looked up as he finished his series. "Yeah. Brad Jones. You?"

"Sarah McKay." She swung each of her sticks in a circle once and dropped into a fighting crouch. "Shall we?"

He shrugged and mimicked her pose. "Why not. I should warn you, though. My dad's an unarmed combat instructor. I never learned how to go easy on girls."

Sarah grinned, all teeth. "I learned from Teyla Emmagen. I never learned how to go easy on men."

They began circling, tossing tentative blows. A scuffle at the door caused them to pause. They watched Robbie, James, and Cameron wander in with the twins in close pursuit. All of them stopped dead when they saw what was going on. Cameron was the first to find his voice. "Sarah, that's cruel."

She raised her eyebrows curiously. "Why? He says his father is an instructor in combat. It should be a good fight."

Jones scoffed at the exchange. "I appreciate the concern, guys. But I've been doing this since I could walk. I think I can take care of myself."

Robbie whistled under his breath. "Yes, but so has she." He shook his head. "Have at it, then. Don't let us stop you." She watched him turn to the weaponry rack and select a pair of staves, tossing one to James and ignoring the rest of them as the two started to warm up.

Jones returned his attention to the match at the same time Sarah did, and the two began again in earnest. After several minutes of exchanging blows that were beginning to come more quickly, he was sweating heavily; she was barely breathing hard. She'd drawn it out so as to work off her anger, but it hadn't worked. Giving up on restraint, she began a full out assault; both sticks whirled and struck with a barely controlled fury. Jones was disarmed repeatedly, but she kept returning his weapon, unwilling to see it end.

After almost half an hour of sparring she was feeling much better, relaxing into the movements and letting them flow as Aunt Teyla had taught her. She disabled Jones in three quick blows, striking his wrist, knee, and torso in quick succession. He went down and stayed down, curled up on his side.

Robbie, having seen the last few rounds, came over to check the boy over. He stood up after a minute, speaking in Ancient. _"Well, I don't think you broke anything. He should be fine with some ice and pain killer."_

She nodded, and spoke in Czech. "Fine. Anyone else up for a go?" There were no takers. "Unarmed?"

Kat finally wandered back from where she'd been peering at the electronic equipment. She responded in English. "I'll go a round unarmed." She stretched and settled into a crouch.

A few minutes later an instructor poked his head in the door to give them a fifteen minute warning for dinner. Sarah and Kat broke up their minor brawl and nodded, each rising and heading for the door. As they headed for the residence halls to shower they heard the instructor in the gym. "What the hell happened to you?"

Sarah couldn't help but grin. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

**Robbie Cadman (Age 16)**

_Crack_

Robbie winced as the sound of splintering wood echoed in the night. He took a last look at his handiwork and darted off to the woods to ensure he wasn't seen. After five minutes with no visible patrol he let out a sigh of relief and returned to the window of the girl's residence hall; now that the offending piece of wood was broken, it opened easily. He hoisted himself up and crawled into the room, looking around. The room was currently empty; Sarah and Lisa must be elsewhere for the moment. After a moment of contemplation he chose a bed at random and settled on it to wait. He didn't have to wait long.

The door to the room opened, and Lisa entered. Her hair was wet and she wore a towel; he realized belatedly that the girls must have gone to shower before bed. He sat up to say something, but she noticed him first. She screamed.

Sarah came sprinting into the room at a dead run, shampoo ready to launch at Lisa's attacker, only to stop short. Having gotten over the initial shock, Lisa closed her mouth and settled for glaring at Robbie. He looked at Sarah, confused, but she merely shrugged in a way that clearly said _She grew up on Earth, who the hell knows what her problem is._ Having decided that there was no real threat, Sarah wandered over to her duffel and began rummaging for clean clothing.

There was a knock at the door followed by 'Tasja's tentative "Ni hao ma?"

Sarah lifted her head, glanced over at the others, then responded. "Wo hung hao. Just a little confusion." She went back to rummaging around. Lisa still hadn't moved.

Robbie finally broke the silence. "What?"

Lisa's glare darkened. "Get. Out."

Robbie frowned, puzzled. "Uh, why?"

Lisa crossed her arms in exasperation. "Because I'm not changing with you in the room. _Out!_"

Robbie again looked to Sarah for help. It was a pointless move. Sarah was ignoring them, apparently having discovered a new form of _something_ in the bottom of her duffel that was holding her attention. He sighed. "Look. If it makes you feel any better I'll turn around. But I'm not leaving, I need to talk to _someone_ who doesn't think the world revolves around Earth football. Or how big Kat's breasts are." He shuddered in disgust. "I've tried. Really, I have. But the Alpha Site boys are really strange." At Lisa's hand gesture, he obediently turned around and settled facing the wall. A moment later he heard shuffling and assumed Lisa was finally getting dressed. "It's not exactly that they're not trying. But every time James and I start talking, they stop what they're doing. It's really hard to hold a conversation with a roomful of guys staring at you. They only speak _English._" He glared at the wall.

Lisa spoke from somewhere to his left. "I know _exactly_ what you mean. I had that for years after we moved to Earth. Matra ended up getting me a deaf matrena."

Sarah finally spoke up, apparently having decided that it was safe to rejoin the conversation. "So you broke regs, traversed the length of the base, and broke a _window_, because you were bored?"

He grinned. "Well, yeah. And I thought you might be interested in helping me with a project."

"What kind of project?" He heard footsteps crossing the room, then she sprawled beside him. "Anything good?"

He shrugged. "I was out poking around this afternoon before the **Age Restrictions on Earth** seminar, and you're totally going to hate that one, and found somewhere that could really use a few less trees."

Sarah nodded contemplatively, sitting up and handing over her hairbrush as she thought. So that was what she'd been hunting for. Robbie started brushing her hair as she mused. "I don't suppose you brought any ordnance with you aside from standard, did you? Wait, this is you. Of course you did. Anything good?"

He set down the brush and parted her hair, beginning to work on a braid. "Well, I _had_ some good stuff, but they did a search of our belongings before they put them in the rooms. They even took the flash-bangs."

Sarah turned to look at him. "Where in the name of the Ancestors did you find flash bangs? We're not importing the things anymore. I've been trying to get my hands on some for a year; I still owe James for that incident with the Pilaoi ceremony of friendship. I _hate_ dancing."

He turned her head back to its previous angle. "My secret. And if you don't stop moving this is going to be crooked."

She reached back blindly and pinched his arm. Hard. "The only thing crooked is your sense of direction. Back to the topic at hand. They took everything?"

Robbie rubbed at the sore spot. "Well, my sidearm and a few spare clips were in my backpack. And I've got a knife. Because you always pack one for them to find, and -"

"One for you to keep." Sarah finished the well-known saying along with him. "I know. I've got a K-Bar, sidearm and clips, my tablet, and some duct tape. Not the greatest arsenal, but we've dealt with worse. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say our first order of business is going to be obtaining supplies?"

Robbie tied off her braid and started on the other side of her head, weaving a mirror image of the first. "I was thinking that, yes." He glanced up as Lisa tapped him on the shoulder. "Yes?"

"If you're going to take over my bed, can I at least sit down?"

He nodded. "Of course. Hey, you want to come and do some demolitions with us? We're going to be clearing a chunk of trees over the ridge."

Lisa had a skeptical look on her face. "I heard. You sure that's such a good idea?" She settled herself next to Robbie and watched him braid Sarah's hair into a complex weave.

Robbie shrugged. "Why not? Not like I don't do it at home. I'll get _rusty_ if I take four weeks off."

Sarah turned to look at Lisa. "The boy gets edgy when he can't blow things up. _Really_ edgy." She grumbled under her breath when he turned her head back to finish the braid.

Lisa nodded slowly. "Huh." A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "Hey, would you teach me how to blow things up?"

Robbie cocked his head to the side. "You mean you don't know how? I thought everyone got basic demolitions at twelve." Lisa opened her mouth to retort but he waved her off. "Not an issue. Sure I'll teach you. It's easy enough on the simple ones, and trees are simple. Bigger structures?" He moved his free hand in a back and forth motion. "Those are a little more complicated."

Lisa grinned. "Don't worry, I learn fast." She was about to say more, but there was a knock at the door. She got up to answer, leaving Robbie free to tie off Sarah's braid. Once he did, Sarah flopped back down on the bed again.

Robbie turned just as Lisa opened the door. Colonel McKenzie was standing on the other side. Robbie shifted out of line-of-sight and hoped the colonel hadn't noticed him yet. He was impressed with Lisa; she didn't even blink at the officer, keeping the door mostly closed. "Can I help you, sir?"

Robbie heard the colonel clear his throat. "I need you to open your door, we've had a report that there's a male student in the hall. It will only take a moment."

"But Sir -" She was cut off when the colonel pushed the door fully open.

Sarah pushed herself up from where she was lying, supporting herself on her elbows. "Yes, Sir?"

"You girls are in luck, this time. First offense punishment only applies to the trespasser. If this happens again, you're all on Disciplinary Detail." The colonel directed his attention at Robbie. "Mr. Cadman, on the other hand, is not so fortunate. Stand up, boy."

Robbie did so, grumbling under his breath in Czech about seriously screwed up policies. "Yes, Sir?"

"What was that, Mr. Cadman?"

"Nothing, Sir."

"I thought not. For unauthorized visitation in the female residence hall, you are assigned one week of morning PT with the marines. This will consist of a 6 klick run and the standard calisthenics routines. You will meet with the lieutenant in charge of said exercises at 0530 beginning tomorrow."

Sarah attempted to speak up. "But, Sir, he-"

"But nothing, Ms. McKay. Or do you want to join him?" Sarah kept her mouth shut, saying quite a bit with her glare. "I thought not. Mr. Cadman, you will return to the male residence hall. Lt. Singer will be expecting you in the morning, I'd suggest you get to sleep."

Robbie nodded and left through the door, throwing a last exasperated look at Sarah. As he was escorted from the building, he could imagine all too well what Sarah's laughter would sound like. After all, it wasn't _their_ fault that the colonel didn't know they did 8 klicks most mornings. And Robbie certainly wasn't going to enlighten him.

When Robbie was deposited back at the male residence hall, he found himself the subject of more than a few stares. The Alpha Site boys whispered amongst themselves until the NCOs had departed, then one he didn't recognise (obviously the appointed inquisitor) walked over and took the seat next to him. "Hi. I'm Jason." Jason shifted to get more comfortable. "So what did you get busted for?"

Robbie rolled his eyes and activated his tablet, waiting for it to boot. "Got caught in the female residence hall."

"The girls' dorm? Man, you move fast. Who'd you go to see?"

Robbie shrugged, already bored with the conversation. "I just wanted to talk to Sarah." He tapped at one of the program icons on the screen, pulling up the Ancient version of Tetris.

"Sarah? Man, you're nuts. That girl's insane."

_That_ made Robbie's head pop up. "Sarah? You're kidding, right?"

"No, man. She beat Brad to a pulp her first night here. And she's got fucking _weird_ ideas about weapons. She got into this big fight with the speaker in **Gun Laws in Western Nations: Check Your Sidearm at the Door**. Started in about something I couldn't even follow."

Robbie raised an eyebrow. "Really."

Jason nodded enthusiastically. "The girl's not human."

Robbie set down his tablet. "See, the way I remember it, he said he could take it. Cameron even asked again when we walked in on the match. _Brad_ didn't want to listen when we said it might not be a good idea to go no-holds-barred with Sarah. It's his own fault."

Jason stuttered, defensiveness creeping into his voice. "But...but... His dad's an unarmed combat instructor. He's been doing that shit since he could walk. No way she did that in a fair fight."

Robbie rolled his eyes. "It was a fair fight. Sarah doesn't need to cheat to win; she's been doing it since she could walk, too. Her genetics are a little more... interesting than yours, perhaps. But she's plenty human."

Jason nodded warily. "Right. You know, I think I'm just going to let that one go. You know who ratted you out?"

Robbie shook his head. "I know it wasn't the twins; none of us get the policies here. Probably one of you Alpha Site types."

Jason stiffened. "What do you mean 'Alpha Site Types'?"

Robbie sat up. "You _Earthborn_. All of you from the Alpha site. You stare at us, blame us 'Lanteans for your own mistakes, think your ways are better because they're from the SGC, and we're the weird ones?"

Jason held up his hands in a defensive motion. "Hey, wait a minute. You can't just class us as one group. Yeah, we've all lived at the Alpha site, but we're from all over." He pointed to one of the other boys who waved. "Ming Tsu over there's from PNX-286, they're kind of big on rules there. Iref," a different boy nodded in their direction, "is from one of the free Jaffa worlds. Only half of us were born on Earth. So I think you need to stop before this gets unpleasant."

Robbie sighed and picked up his tablet. "Whatever. But next time I hear someone talking about Kat or Sarah behind their backs? I'll tell them. You don't want that. Do any of you know where James went?"

Heads shook in the negative around the room. Robbie groused in Czech and made his way to his own room, attempting to ignore the muttering in the main lounge. James was probably engrossed in a book somewhere; at least he'd have the room to himself.

Robbie didn't even turn on the light when he entered his room, just shut the door and made his way to his bed by feel before falling onto it facedown. There was a disgruntled mutter from the other bed. Robbie raised his head, surprised. "James?"

The shape on the other bed shifted. "Yeah. Where were you?"

"I went over to see Sarah. I wanted some help on the demolitions work I want to do later. Since you said no, I thought you'd be somewhere reading until 'lights out'."

"Nah, needed sleep. I hate these Ancestor-cursed twenty-four hour days."

Robbie chuckled quietly. "I hear you there. Sorry I woke you. Doors here aren't what they should be."

"Eh. No big deal. Sarah say yes?"

"Yeah. Although I landed Disciplinary Detail for my troubles since I got caught. I have to run six klicks a morning for the next week."

"Lucky bastard. Sarah's still going to make us do eight, I'm sure."

Robbie grinned and was totally unrepentent. "I know. 'Night."

"Night."

* * *

**James Parrish (Age 16)**

Unlike certain pyrotechnicians he could name, James managed to go two whole weeks before he ended up on Disciplinary Detail. When it did happen, it was arguable whether he was to blame.

Well, to be technical (because he always was, at least when it came to language), he might have thrown the first punch. But he was justified. Really justified. You didn't let people insult your family.

Upon reflection, he would concede that they hadn't started out actually insulting his family. It turned out that a few of the older Alpha Site kids were military brats. This was not surprising, since the Alpha Site had originally been a solely military outpost. Earthborn military brats spent a lot of time on military bases. This meant that they picked up military slang. James understood all of this; he watched the media they received from Earth. He and the others were nothing like the children they saw in the movies that arrived on the _A.S.V.__ Orion_. He knew that most Earthborn didn't learn to safety and remove the magazine from a P-90 when they were two because 'being around the weapons wasn't an option, it was a necessity' and 'better safe than sorry.'

None of this bothered James. As usual, it had been his curiosity that had caused the problem. He'd heard the word 'fag' come up a few times in conversation, in the same tone of voice that Dr. Zelenka usually reserved for things-not-to-be-repeated. James knew it was an insult, he just didn't know where it originated. He liked languages, liked knowing how they worked and evolved. So he had asked, because as far as he knew, a 'fag' was the used end of a cigarette (the term had come up in a British media example a few years back).

The question had been met with rather stunned gazes, implying that it was something everyone knew. James had pushed, and the answer he had gotten had stunned him in turn. After all, why was it an insult for two men to have sex? _He_ had two fathers, and he was reasonably certain that his younger brother wasn't the result of immaculate conception. His dad had bitched too much about how it was all Patra's fault for that to have been the case. After Michael had been born Dad had gone on a rampage for _years_ about the need for a Morning After Pill for Men. James knew this because Patra had to take him in for his check-ups and immunizations for almost three years while Robbie's father was refusing to speak to Dad. It wasn't until James was older that he understood what it had all been about.

This still left the question of _why_ it was an insult. James had been puzzled, and said as much. He had explained that he had two fathers, and that he didn't see why it should matter. One of the Alpha Site kids (Terry? Tom? He was in the other group, and at that moment James couldn't bring himself to care about the name) had explained that it was morally wrong and that Earth (or at least the United States) prohibited men or women of that persuasion from serving in their military if the information came to light. Hence the insult. James took a deep breath, consciously unclenching his fists. It was just another sign that Earth was a seriously messed up place. He wouldn't let it get to him.

"So since I have two fathers who live together, they would be automatically barred from Earth military service? Because they are in violation of a subset's moral codes?"

T-something had thought for a moment, then nodded. "To put it in a very basic sense, yes. No room in the fighting types for people like that."

James voice dropped in pitch, quiet and controlled. "People like that. You mean people who are smart, competent, and educated? People who have saved my home more times than any of us can recall? Who are willing to risk their lives so that their children can grow up safe? The 'fighting types' have no room for people like that?"

"Well, yes. I mean I guess when you put it that way-"

That was about all James remembered clearly. According to the official report, when the marines had arrived and separated the group he'd been one of three still standing. Out of six. He remembered being pulled off of T-something, and he remembered that he'd reached out with his mind and there had been nothing there to calm him as it normally did, but that was all. They stuck him in his room for the rest of the day and he got to skip **Wireless Communication: It Costs Money** and **Fashion of 2024: What Not To Wear**. Around 1700 he had a visit from the colonel, who informed him he was being placed on Disciplinary Detail with the marines until he left. A few of the other boys in the brawl were as well.

James had been released and allowed to attend dinner and the evening session, with a warning that if it happened again he was getting sent back to Atlantis. James had nodded in all the right places (having a colonel for a father helped with these kind of talks a lot), then trudged over to the mess. Looking around after collecting his tray, he realized that the friends he'd made among the Alpha Site kids were avoiding his gaze, even the girls. He settled on a table with Sarah and Robbie, promptly refusing to discuss his currently bruised face. Sarah had done a quick head count on the Alpha Site kids and nodded knowingly, but didn't press the issue. That was as good as he was likely to get.

That evening's session was **Credible Backstories 102**. They'd been having the session every third night, creating and reinforcing their 'histories' as far as anyone they encountered on Earth was concerned. James understood the point, but really wasn't in the mood for it. Robbie and 'Tasja kept shooting him concerned looks, so he knew it must be showing, but it was just too much effort to pretend the afternoon hadn't happened. At the end of the session when things were wrapping up and the speaker asked for final questions, James decided to address the issue.

"Sir, I understand that this wasn't the topic of the evening, but there's something that's been troubling me since our first night here."

The lieutenant nodded cautiously, having heard about the earlier brawl involving the normally bookish teen. "Go ahead, Mr. Parrish."

"Sir, I know Sarah asked this the first day, but she never really got an answer. Why are we in same sex housing?"

"As I'm sure you have been informed, Mr. Parrish, regulations require the residence facilities for minors, those under 18 Earth Standard Years of age, be single sex."

"Why? What does it accomplish? Col. McKenzie said it was to prevent fraternization, but that doesn't make sense if you look at it logically. There's no reason I could not choose to fraternize with Robbie; why couldn't Lisa fraternize with Sarah for that matter? I mean, I know in Earth media homosexuality is stereotyped and only minimally reflected, but it's still an acknowledged part of your society, yes? So what makes it so much more likely that I will engage in unauthorized fraternization with one of the female members of the group? You insult us with the implication that we cannot control ourselves, and by extension by implying that only those of us interested in the opposite sex have any need to."

The lieutenant blinked at him. "Unfortunately I am not in a position to discuss or debate the functionality or lack thereof in your current housing assignments. It is something you would need to discuss with those who organized this operation."

James frowned. "I just don't understand the assumption. I mean, you're not even ensuring a lack of viable reproduction. If it were population control that's one thing, but same sex segregation doesn't eliminate population growth, it only changes the reproductive result statistics. The men are less likely to produce female children, the women producing only female children." James stood and grabbed his backpack angrily. "This whole thing is about helping us to understand Earth culture so we don't stand out, so that's what I'm trying to do. _I just want to understand._" His voice echoed in the silent lecture hall. Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out. He heard others behind him and stopped once he reached the treeline surrounding the base outside the chain-link fencing, leaning against a tree.

Sarah appeared in his line of sight after a moment, followed by Robbie and Cameron. The twins weren't far behind. Even Lisa was visible, though she hung to the back of the small group. Robbie was the first to break the silence. "I think we need to clear the air. Let's take a walk."

Robbie led the way and they walked in ones and twos through the trees for close to half an hour before stopping at a clearing. A rather recently cleared clearing. So this was where Robbie had been venting lately. James could understand why it had been chosen; it reminded him of home. It was the edge of an inland lake, its shore made of large rocks impossible to identify in the starlight. The wrongness in the absence of even a single moon seemed to echo through the stillness.

Taking Robbie's suggestion to heart, James settled against a 'fallen' tree near the water's edge and soon they were all seated, scattered between a few of the downed trunks and leaning gently against each other in the cool night air. He spoke in a strong, clear voice, initiating the cleansing ritual they all knew so well. "You do not realize what you will miss until it is taken from you. We speak of loss to acknowledge it, to allow it to pass from us." He paused for a moment, letting the words be absorbed before resuming his speech.

"I miss the semi-sentient vines. Dad's had those things forever, but they're still my favorite. I miss how you can talk to them and they tease you; hissing and shifting and an intelligent response always just outside of comprehension."

'Tasja spoke next. "I miss my mom's balcony. On a clear day you can lie on your back and pretend you are actually touching the sky; on a cloudy day you are in the middle of the clouds. It's like flying."

"I miss doing demolitions inventory. It's the one thing mum and I always shared, even after she got promoted." Robbie spoke quietly, eyes on the water.

Sarah shifted to lie on her back, using Robbie as a pillow. "I miss flying. Really flying. When it's just you and the Puddle Jumper, and you're all on your own in the upper atmosphere and you can almost feel it on your skin. And then that first moment when your destination comes into sight and you know it's one more successful run; one more day you've _really_ been alive."

Several of them sighed in agreement. Cameron spoke up next. "I miss the hunt. I've only been on one as a full hunter, but the thrill of the chase cannot compare with anything else I've known."

Kat spoke up from beside James, curled into his side. "I miss the city. I miss her hum, and I miss her whispers, and I miss doors that open when you want them to, and I miss computers that do what you tell them to, and I miss feeling _whole_." He felt her shaking against him and realized she was crying. He stroked her back gently, soothing her as much as any of them could. They all knew what she meant. All of them except for 'Tasja and Cameron had The Gene. It varied in strength, but they all had it. You didn't even realize what was there until the first time you were off-world for more than a day; then the unnatural stillness seemed to creep in. It wasn't so bad on most of the Pegasus worlds, almost all of them had bits and pieces of Ancient technology. It was the barren worlds, those without the touch of the Ancestors, where the quiet stillness became that much closer to a gaping void.

James opened his mouth to conclude the ritual when Lisa's voice cut him off. It was barely audible, even in the quiet night, but they all understood her without difficulty. "I miss the _sea_. The smell and the sight and the taste and the sound. All of it."

James searched the darkness and found her at Robbie's side, tucked under his arm and leaning against him. James spoke the formal closing words in Ancient, joined by everyone except Lisa. _"We give voice to our pain that it be taken from us; that we may heal and grow stronger. Ancesters, take our loss and our sorrow and do with them what you will."_ They bowed their heads in contemplation a moment.

After the requisite time had passed, James shifted in an attempt to avoid the knot at his back. As he resettled Kat against his side, he realized that she had fallen asleep. Upon closer inspection, most of the group appeared to have drifted off. He was trying to decide how he'd pull his sidearm out without waking the younger girl when Sarah's voice cut through the quiet. "You can sleep, James. I'll take first watch. I'll wake you at a third and then you can wake Robbie for pre-dawn." He heard the sound of a sidearm being unholstered and let himself doze off.

Sarah woke him three hours later, as promised, and he managed to shift Kat so that she was curled up on the ground. The first hour and a half of his shift passed without incident, but then he heard an all-too-familiar sound. Low altitude aircraft on approach. Not Wraith Darts, but not the familar sound of Puddle Jumpers either. Probably one of the base F-302's, but no way to tell until it was directly overhead. He roused the group, everyone coming to full alertness within moments. Even Lisa seemed to remember how things worked. Sarah gestured to the treeline and they sprinted for cover. James normally considered himself an optimist; there was always a possibility of talking one's way out of a situation. However, if his day continued on its current trend then the incoming were not even going to be Tau'ri. He really wished he had a P-90. Or, even better, one of those Satedan pistols. Those were _nice_.

As the craft passed overhead, James breathed a sigh of relief. F-302s. Which meant they were probably looking for the Atlantis contingent. Which meant he was in trouble _again._ Although he highly doubted that the colonel would put the entire group on Disciplinary Detail. And really, once you'd had combat training with Charin's dad, nothing could scare you. That was the point of combat training with Charin's dad.

The group proceeded back to the base in silence, taking no chances. Sarah walked point, her eyesight better than anyone else's as a positive side effect of her increased reflex development. Robbie brought up the rear. They all kept their sidearms out. They had been at the base for two weeks, but it was still in many ways an unknown world. 'Better safe than sorry' had been a recurrent theme in their collective childhood. They were approaching the treeline when Sarah whispered sharply to them in Ancient. _"Away."_ She slid her sidearm into its holster and stepped from the forest and into the light. James watched her take a few more steps into the light before calling to the marine standing outside of the fencing.

The marine brought his rifle up and peered at her through the scope before lowering it again. "Ms. McKay?"

Sarah nodded, hands raised in the universal 'I come in peace' gesture. "That's me. What can I do for you?"

The marine took a few steps closer and frowned. "Where have you been? Where are the rest of the Atlantis children? We've been looking everywhere for you."

James winced. Oh yeah, they were in trouble. He kept his attention focused on Sarah, watching as she spoke more quietly to the marine for a minute before making a gesture with her left hand. They walked out of the woods in a single unit, stopping behind Sarah and waiting until the guard had radioed in their presence. After a few minutes during which James watched Robbie fiddle a bit alarmingly with the clasp on his holster, the colonel and his desk sergeant appeared. Col. McKenzie looked furious, but he didn't say anything. They were escorted to their respective residence halls in silence, their sidearms confiscated, and informed as a group that they would be showing up for PT the next morning as well as for evening sessions with their combat instructor to 'get this teenaged rebellion out of their systems'.

When James finally fell asleep, the only thing he felt guilty about was that Lisa didn't have the training that the rest of them did. She was going to be _miserable_. Even factoring that, it had been worth it for the night to themselves. Talking really did make everything better.

* * *

**Lisa Kirnov (Age 16)**

The first morning Lisa was assigned to Disciplinary Detail, she found a marine waiting for her outside the female residence hall. When she attempted to proceed to the PT field with Sarah and the twins, the marine calmly informed her that she would be meeting with the colonel this morning instead. Puzzled, but unwilling to get herself into more trouble at the moment, Lisa sat quietly outside the colonel's office and waited patiently. Half an hour later Colonel McKenzie arrived and waved her inside.

"Do you know why you're here, Ms. Kirnov?"

Lisa shook her head. As far as she knew, she was supposed to be out running with the rest of the 'Lanteans right now. She didn't think she'd broken any other rules.

The colonel took a seat behind his desk, gesturing for her to take one of the guest chairs. "Ms. Kirnov. Lisa. You were hired on as a summer intern here for a reason. Do you know what that reason was?"

"I am to assist in course preparation regarding contemporary teenaged cultural practices on Earth. In addition, I am to provide basic understanding of the culture found on Atlantis based upon my observations during my time spent there. Sir."

Colonel McKenzie nodded. "That's correct. Now that we've established what you're _supposed_ to be doing, let's take a look at what has been occurring. For example, can you tell me where in that job description you found justification for engaging in and encouraging deviant behaviour among the Atlantis children?"

Lisa bit her lip. "I hadn't known that I was, Sir. I was under the impression that I was supposed to interact with the students here. Get to know them and socialize. I've been going about that as well as I can, Sir. I admit, I may not have reported every incident I heard rumor of; trust is earned among children from warzones. I was told at the SGC that this was the third year this project was organized; surely you've had children who didn't adapt well before, Sir?"

The colonel shook his head. "You are correct that this is the third year we've held this program, but it is the first year we've invited children from Atlantis to participate. I've never seen such an insular group. Only two of them have made any attempt at contact with the other children in the two weeks we've been here. To add to the initial socialization issues, there's the issue of deviant behavior."

"Sir, I believe some of the problems you're running into are based on simple cultural differences. Things that are commonplace in Atlantis simply are not done on Earth controlled bases or Earth itself. I tried to bring this up when I was first asked for my input, but all of you thought I was exaggerating. The Atlantis children may have Earthborn parents, but we're not Earthborn. It's a very different way of life out there. I was only three when I left, but I still remember it clearly. Aside from that, as much as the 'Lanteans are avoiding contact with the Alpha Site kids, they're being avoided in return. The Alpha Site types stare and whisper. Is it any wonder the 'Lanteans don't want to talk to them? I don't want to talk to most of them."

The colonel opened and shut his mouth once before martialling his thoughts. He did not look pleased. "I do not believe that was the issue at hand. I didn't ask whether the 'Lanteans', as you call them, were solely responsible for not playing nicely with others. I said that **you** were not hired to socialize with the Atlantis children to such an exclusive degree. You are here to advise session instructors and to provide normal social interaction examples for the attending children in order to help prepare them for what they will encounter on Earth." He paused a moment, studying her. "I've been getting complaints left and right from staff about the unwillingness of the Atlantis children to speak English. Their propensity for fighting. Their superior and antagonistic attitude towards anyone born on Earth. You say that they come from an alien culture and need adjustment. I tell you that is what this place is for. We are here to help them, but they have to allow it. Your assistance in circumventing SGC policies and providing the Atlantis children with positive reinforcement for their misbehavior needs to stop."

Lisa frowned. "Sir, I think you overestimate the change that can be accomplished in four weeks. I can't imagine there haven't been difficulties in the past."

"Difficulties are one thing. We expect difficulties. But we don't expect our expert on Atlantis culture to change sides at the drop of a hat. You're _our_ expert, Ms. Kirnov. You're not one of them. You're not doing anyone any good by speaking to them in their own languages or encouraging them to avoid their classmates. You're the only person we have on staff who even speaks what they do."

"With all due respect, Sir. The language that the 'Lantean children speak is far older and more distinguished than English or Spanish or Chinese. It was _my_ native tongue once; I don't see how you can expect me not to take the opportunity to speak it." She carefully left out the fact that all of them routinely cursed in Czech, courtesy of Dr. Zelenka's stint as a baby-sitter when he'd torn up his left leg getting in the way of shrapnel from a Wraith landmine. Kat said he still swore every time the pressure changed. Lisa didn't doubt it.

"That is exactly what I'm talking about, Ms. Kirnov. I think you need to take a very careful look at where your allegiances lie. You are here representing Earth, you would do well to remember it."

Lisa stood up, hands balled into fists. "This is why we split from Earth in the first place. It was always Earth first and Atlantis second. Before you forget, Colonel, I was born in Atlantis. I know where my allegiances lie. With the people who didn't lie to me, ignore me, or send me to doctors who didn't have the right security clearances and told me it was all in my head." She turned and stormed out of the office, heading to the girls' residence hall.

When Lisa reached the residence hall, Sarah and the twins still had not returned from their PT. Most of the other girls had yet to wake. Lisa trudged to her room and then went to take a shower, glaring at anything that crossed her path, including the freakishly petite girl from PNX-286. Lisa stood under the hot water for far longer than was reasonable before wrapping herself in a towel and slinking back to her room.

Lisa wasn't sure why she was so upset by the morning's conversation. The colonel had been obnoxious in his statements, yes, but no more so than people she'd dealt with before. The complete lack of understanding for the 'Lanteans hurt, but she could see why it was happening. It was... It was being told that she wasn't one of _them_. Wasn't 'Lantean. The implication that she wasn't truly a member of that group, and by extension should immediately assume Earth was correct in its behaviors was more painful than she wanted to admit.

Lisa pulled out fresh clothing with sharp movements, nearly ripping a shirt in the process of tossing it on the floor. When she was dressed, she allowed herself to fall onto her bed and curl up into a ball, fighting the tears which burned so irrationally for release. She heard someone behind her but didn't bother getting up; she didn't want Sarah to see her this upset. She didn't want anyone to know that the colonel had shaken her up so badly. A moment later a hand was placed on her shoulder, followed by a dip in her bed as someone sat beside her. "Sarah, please just go away. I don't want to talk right now. About anything."

The hand didn't move, and the voice that accompanied it wasn't Sarah's. "You looked pretty upset when you got out of the colonel's office. Ni hao ma?"

Lisa shrugged, not wanting Robbie to hear the bitterness lurking in her throat. The colonel's words had driven home another point as well. Was she really one of the 'Lanteans anymore? Or was she just a tag-along who didn't belong in either world? She squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as they would go, trying to hold the tears in. She didn't realize she was shaking until she felt Robbie lift her and pull her into his arms. "Ssh. Ssh. It's all right. Whatever it is."

Lisa shook her head and tried to curl up even further; the tears having begun to escape. Once they started, she couldn't make them stop. There was a moment of shifting and squirming before she found herself pressed against Robbie's chest. He carded his fingers through her hair gently and spoke nonsense in a number of languages until she was again calm enough to speak coherently. "How did you know what happened?"

She felt him shrug. "Sarah saw you come out of the main instruction building, said you looked pretty bad." There was a moment of silence, and when he spoke again he had shifted to Ancient. _"Can you talk about it?"_

Lisa took a few slow breaths before speaking. _"I don't know who I am anymore. I don't know where I fit in, if I even fit in anywhere. I'm **not** Earthborn, I never will be. But I'm not really 'Lantean anymore either, am I?"_

She felt his hand pause for a fraction of a second before resuming its stroking. _"I don't care what they told you, Lisa. You are one of us. You'll **always** be one of us. You might have been lost for a while, but the city knows her children."_

"Really?" She hated the pleading note in her voice, but was unable to stop herself from asking.

"Of course. Even if you never go back; Atlantis will always be your home." There was an odd note to his voice, and she wondered if she wasn't the only one who was revealing more than they wanted to.

They were startled from their quiet conversation by the sound of the door opening. Robbie was halfway to his feet when the visitor announced herself. "Lisa? You left your shampoo in the shower and I-" Qilin, the petite girl from PXN-286, was standing in the doorway with a stunned expression on her face.

Lisa sat up abruptly, heedless of her tearstained face. "Qilin, this isn't what it looks like..."

"Really? Because it looks like I just figured out why you're so friendly with the Atlantis group," she accused, "you think if you sleep with them you'll be one of them? My mother tried that, remember? It doesn't work. She can't even get Earth citizenship with the new laws." Qilin deposited the shampoo on the nearest solid object. "Sorry to interrupt."

"Qilin, wait-" The slamming of the door cut off Lisa's attempt at an explanation. She slumped back against Robbie. "That could have gone better."

Robbie rubbed her back softly. "It's done now." He paused. "You realize you're probably going to get even more Disciplinary with the rest of us for this, right? I feel like I should apologize in advance."

Lisa shrugged half-heartedly. "I've got a junior master's certification in Aikido; I can probably hold my own in the PT. Mom enrolled me when I started taking the El into school by myself. Said I needed to be 'able to defend myself.' The running is going to _suck_, though."

Robbie grinned at her. "Nah. Running's the easy part. Mum was a running star in college; she taught me some tricks. I'll show you if they make you run with us."

Lisa found herself smiling in return. "I think I'd like that." She straightened up with a groan. "I should probably go find Qilin and explain that it wasn't quite how it looked. She's a nice girl, in her own way. We met the first day, before you arrived. Her father's a US marine and her mother's from PNX-286; apparently the match didn't go so well. Without an Earthborn husband Qilin's mother can't move to Earth, but Qilin can since she's a US citizen because of her father. It's just a mess all around."

Robbie was watching her thoughtfully. "I hadn't realized some of the Alpha Site kids were so much like us; I thought they had stronger ties to Earth."

"Well, from what I understand they do and they don't. I gather for the Earthborn the Alpha Site is like growing up on any other foreign military base. For the refugees it's a stopover to a better life that ends up permanent. I remember one of them saying _Earth is somewhere that sends us books, guns, and media while taking 20 of our income._ I think the difference is that Earth never cut them off. They don't realize how Earth is about their bases, and for them it is just a base. They've never even considered being able to make a go of it by themselves; it's not an option. Not like it was for us."

There was a knock at the door, followed by Sarah's damp head a moment later. "I don't suppose you've seen my shampoo, eh? I thought I left it in the showers, but it was gone when I got back." She wandered the rest of the way in, exclaiming as she saw the bottle on the desk. "There it is! Anyway, we'd better get going if we're going to make it to the mess before breakfast is over." Sarah put her shampoo away and grabbed her good jacket, heading to the door. "Coming?"

Robbie rose and offered Lisa his hand. She spent a long moment contemplating the offer before she slid her hand into his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Yeah, I think I am."

* * *

**Qilin Smith (Age 17)**

The screaming woke Qilin in the middle of the night.

Qilin might not have the combat training that her roommate did, but she had ears like anyone else. Apparently when Katerina Weir screamed, she wanted the world to know. Qilin sat up in bed, looking around for the source of the attack; surely it would take something serious to make one of the _Atlantis_ children scream. If the rumors were right, they'd grown up in the middle of a war zone.

What she found was her roommate pressed into the corner at the head of her bed. Qilin stared at the girl, trying to make out what was going on. Kat had her knees pulled up to her chest and was staring at the rest of the room with wide, terrified eyes; her screams were piercing. Kat kept staring at the space between them and blinking hard, like she could make something go away. Qilin rose slowly, not wanting to startle the girl; she hesitantly approached Kat and reached out to place a hand on the first thing she could reach, the girl's arm. The moment Qilin's hand connected with Kat's skin, the girl began convulsing. Qilin jumped back, frightened, and began screaming for help.

A moment later 'Tasja Weir, Kat's sister, appeared in the doorway looking concerned. Qilin watched as 'Tasja took one look at the convulsing girl and raced back out again. Qilin had backed herself into her own corner by the time 'Tasja reappeared with Sarah on her heels. The two whispered in that strange language they all spoke, then Sarah nodded and headed off and 'Tasja crossed the room and took hold of her sister. Qilin watched in silence while 'Tasja held her sister still until the girl's twitching body relaxed and she was merely shivering. Once Kat had calmed Qilin shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, peering over with a kind of morbid curiosity. "What...what happened?"

'Tasja took a long look at her unconscious sister, stroking Kat's hair gently as she shivered before turning to face Qilin. "She flipped. It's happened before; it's not as bad as it looks, honest." She cocked her head to look more closely at Qilin. "How much do you know about Atlantis?"

Qilin shrugged. "Same as any of us, I guess. That it's a war zone, that you speak a weird language, that the older girl beat the tar out of Brad and one of your boys took on five of us and won. Personally, I don't get what's so special about you."

'Tasja sighed and turned her gaze again on her sister. "Atlantis is the City of the Ancestors; it was built by the Ancients millions of years ago. These Ancients had a special gene that they programmed their technology to respond to; we call it the ATA Gene. It's very rare in the human population. Every 'Lantean born without it gets a gene therapy within their first month of life in an attempt to increase the number of people who can use the technology. If it takes, they also have a chance of passing this gene on to their children. It's successful in about 65 of applications. Are you with me so far?"

Qilin nodded hesitantly. She couldn't understand what this had to do with the unconscious girl on the other bed, but she could follow the other girl's meaning well enough.

"Good. Something you need to understand; our city is made entirely of this gene-coded technology. It's in our doors, our windows, our computers, our floors; it's in _everything_. People with The Gene who are raised in the city interact with Atlantis in a different way than everyone else. I don't know how it works; the therapy didn't work for me, it's not perfect. In some sick twist of fate, it worked too well on my sister. When we were little, we couldn't go offworld for more than a day without this happening." 'Tasja gestured to the shivering girl in the bed. "As she's gotten older it's gotten better, she's all right as long as she has something Ancient under her pillow or with her. She's never gone this far away from home, though."

Qilin shuddered, imagining what it would be like to be bound to a place like that. Her mother's people were nomadic by tradition, and some of those inclinations had passed to Qilin. She thought a moment. "Before she started, um... Before it happened, she was screaming. I think she was having a nightmare."

'Tasja peered at Qilin thoughtfully. "We all get nightmares, don't you? I mean, it comes with growing up in a war zone. None of us made it to five without seeing the Wraith in some form or another; even the changed Wraith who ended up living with us occasionally went bad. I can't count the number of times Kat woke me by turning on the lights in her sleep because she was frightened. With the nightmares you either get over them or you learn to scream silently." She shrugged. "I got over it. Kat still becomes a little strange for weeks after a bombardment. I think it's the tie to the city."

They were interrupted by Sarah's return. She had Robbie on her heels, and they could hear official personnel outside the building. Robbie crossed the room and displaced 'Tasja, running something that Qilin didn't recognize over the shivering girl. While he was doing this, Kat began mumbling. She was loud enough that Qilin, still on the other side of the room, could understand bits and pieces. The words "quiet" and "hurts" and "empty" were repeated over and over in a whimper. Qilin pulled her knees up and withdrew onto her bed, disconcerted both at the pathetic girl on the bed and the matter-of-factness of the other children. As if this was nothing special. Even Lisa, the girl Qilin was reasonably sure was trying to sleep her way into the Atlantis group, seemed far too relaxed with the situation.

Qilin's observations were brought to an abrupt halt when the base's doctor entered the room. "Everyone out, I need space to work here."

Robbie glared at the woman. "We know what's going on. She needs to go home. It's happened before. Most of us have it to some degree. She reached for the city and it wasn't there. It's just worse for her; she has an _unusual_ relationship with the city." He stood. "She's stable right now, but she won't stay that way. She needs to go _home_." There was something fierce in his eyes, and Qilin had to look away. She couldn't imagine talking to one's senior like that.

The doctor and Robbie exchanged glares for a moment before the doctor backed down, shocking Qilin. "We knew this might happen, but I want to make sure it's what it appears. I'll have the colonel contact Earth about getting her back to Atlantis. In the meantime, I want to run some tests. We have some time either way; it can't hurt."

Robbie turned and spoke to Sarah and 'Tasja, using quick, sharp words. They replied in that same strange language they slipped into when they wanted privacy. None of the other kids knew what it was either. After a few moments they seemed to come to a consensus. Robbie turned back to the doctor. "'Tasja or I stay with her until she leaves."

The doctor looked relieved. "That's fine. I'd appreciate someone who's handled this before being available. Could you carry her to the infirmary for me?"

Robbie knelt and gathered the shivering girl into his arms; she still hadn't stopped her muttering, and it was disturbing to see her glassy, fear-bright eyes so wide in the pale face. Qilin found her gazed fixed on Kat's hair; the deep auburn locks that normally seemed full of a life of their own now lay sweaty and limp against Robbie's shoulder. Out of everything, that stood out the most. Qilin realized that she was probably in mild shock herself; she hadn't felt this dissociated since she'd been told that her father wasn't coming back home again when she was eight. She stared after the group as they all left with Robbie, only coming back to herself after they had left.

Qilin found herself shivering and realized how cold the room was. She was dressed for sleep in a tank top and shorts, but outside the warmth of her bed it was woefully inadequate. There would be no more sleep for her tonight, not unless she wanted nightmares herself. After a moment's thought she concluded that she might as well shower and prepare for the day. Still shivering, she collected her things and made her way to the showers. Once there and under the hot spray she acknowledged that perhaps some of the shaking wasn't from the temperature and allowed herself to lean against the wall and slowly sink to the floor.

She'd never seen anything like that. It was frightening; Kat had seemed so normal until she woke up screaming. All because of some mutant gene. Qilin shivered harder, the hot water not touching the cold she felt inside. The Atlantis kids, 'Lanteans she'd heard them say, hadn't even blinked at what had happened. That kind of thing was normal for them; it was to be expected. What would it be like to live like that? She had thought her life had been hard and strange; she was a half-breed exile to her mother's people and something to be pitied by the Earth soldiers who rotated through the base. All of them were like that in one way or another; only Brad and Josh were Earthborn themselves. The rest of them were mixed-breeds or refugees.

Even the children of the soldiers were second class compared to the Earthborn; they got their information and entertainment from Earth, but the way things were set up they could have no effect on the rules that governed their own lives. She'd never thought about it much until she'd heard one of the 'Lanteans arguing with a teacher over whether being at Earth's mercy was better than leaving it behind. Robbie had sounded really upset, and it hadn't made any sense to Qilin at the time. What other option was there than following Earth's rules? Except, as she had been learning through rumor, Atlantis didn't follow Earth's rules. They weren't actually a colony; they were an independent state. The people of Atlantis had essentially told Earth to leave them alone.

Qilin was brought out of her musing by the sudden disappearance of the hot water. It hadn't gone cold, merely vanished. She looked up, blinking, and found Sarah standing there with an annoyed look on her face. "You must have been in here close to an hour for the water to have cooled this much. You do realize that, right?"

Qilin shook her head in confusion, trying to bring her thoughts into a semblance of order again. Sarah let out a put-upon sigh and tossed a towel at her; Qilin barely managed to catch it before it hit the wet floor. Sarah reached over and gripped Qilin's shoulder, helping her upright and wrapping her in the towel. When Sarah spoke again, her voice was surprisingly gentle. Not at all what Qilin would have expected from the stories told by the girls in Sarah's session group. "Kat really freaked you out, didn't she?"

Qilin nodded. She tried to speak, and on the second attempt her voice worked well enough to be understood. "Her sister said something about bad gene therapy? Can that happen to the rest of you, too?"

Sarah shook her head and guided Qilin to the bench that rested again one of the walls. "Kat's strange that way. Most of the rest of us come by our gene naturally. After what happened with Kat they started holding off on the shot until kids are two months old; it hasn't happened since. There's a silence in my mind, but it's not overwhelming. Dad gets it too when we visit Earth, but Papa doesn't."

Qilin wrapped the towel tighter around herself. "What's it like, having a city that talks to you?"

Sarah settled beside her. "It's... I don't know how to describe it to someone who doesn't have The Gene. Dad says that it's like finding a part of yourself you didn't know was missing. I can't imagine _not_ having her there." She shifted, turning to face Qilin head on. "They tried to make us leave once. Back when I was little, they cut us off. The _Daedalus_ vanished, and it was just us against the rest of the galaxy. I don't remember anything before the Year of Secession; I was only one when it happened. I do remember when Earth tried to take us away, though. The Earthers showed up after years of silence and expected us to bow down to them; we said no. They wanted us to leave, to give up _our_ city, how could they do that?" Sarah shook her head. Her voice became quieter. "It was our home. Some people left, like Lisa's family, but most of us stayed. I can't imagine what Lisa must have gone through, living so long without the city." She shuddered visibly at the idea. Then she straightened up. "Hey, you steady enough to make it back to your room? I've got to get to Disciplinary soon."

Qilin took a deep breath, considered, then let it out again. Sarah's rambling monologue had calmed her significantly; she did indeed feel more grounded again. "I believe I will be fine. I apologize; I shouldn't have reacted so badly. Why did you come to find me?"

Sarah shrugged good-naturedly. "I didn't." She gestured to the room at large. "I heard the shower, thought someone left it on. I realized what must have happened when I found you, thought you might like someone to talk you down."

To her surprise, Qilin found herself smiling. She spoke formally, hoping to make her meaning more clear. "Thank you. It has helped. I was... _not myself_ for a while there. You may depart, I will be fine."

Sarah gave her a concerned glance. "If you're sure..."

Qilin nodded. "Go, you do not wish to be late."

Sarah giggled unexpectedly. "You sounded just like my aunt," she explained. With that, Sarah rose and made her way to the door. She paused at the threshold, indecision evident before she spoke. "Listen- Qilin, right?" Qilin nodded. "If you need to talk about what happened, later, come and find me, eh? The other Alpha Site kids aren't going to understand. I know what it's like to get really shaken up. We all do."

Qilin blinked at the unexpected offer, but before she could respond Sarah had vanished around the corner. She slowly stood from the bench and cinched her towel tighter before proceeding out the door and to her room. She eyed Kat's empty bed with concern, hoping that the girl truly was all right. She thought about what Sarah had said, the open offer to talk about this with someone who understood what she'd seen. Perhaps the 'Lanteans weren't what they seemed; maybe they were just different. Unlike the other children that she knew, the 'Lanteans never doubted where home was. It was something Qilin admired; she wondered if she would ever be that certain of her right to belong.

* * *

**Natasja Weir (Age 15)**

'Tasja was brought out of her packing by a tentative knock on the door. She looked up and saw her sister's roommate, the little Asian girl from PNX-286. "Can I help you?"

The girl looked around hesitantly. "I'm sorry to intrude. I wanted to ask how your sister is doing?"

'Tasja shrugged. "She went home last night. I'm sure she's fine."

"You are not more concerned?"

'Tasja set down the shirt she was folding to take a good look at the girl. Qilin, that was it. "It's not like it hasn't happened before. After the third time, you kind of get used to it. She's always fine by the end of her first day at home. It's being away from the city that makes her nuts." She paused, considering. "Actually, she's kind of nuts to start with; when I was little she'd wander off and we'd find her in a corner talking to the door controls or what have you. It's just that she gets a lot worse the longer she's away from home. She needs her _social time_ with Ancient machinery or something. Oh, hey, take a seat. It's not like Gina's going to be back before we leave." 'Tasja gestured to her roommate's empty bed.

Qilin blinked in surprise and inched further into the room warily before settling carefully on the indicated bed.

'Tasja gave up on the packing and set her mostly full duffel to the side, sitting on her own bed. "This will probably make me seem really strange and heartless and resentful, but ever since I can remember, my life has been dictated by what Kat could or couldn't do." She cocked her head and carefully positioned her hands in imitation of her mother. "'Sorry, 'Tasja, we can't meet your cousins on Earth, Kat can't be away from home that long.'" She lay back with a sigh. "I spent fifteen years unable to spend more than a few hours off world, spending every downtime on The Mainland because Kat couldn't go very long off-world. We always thought she'd grow out of it, but nope! She's stubborn that way."

'Tasja raised her head and saw Qilin frowning at her. "You don't like your sister?"

'Tasja sighed. "That didn't come out right, I guess. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister dearly. She's my _twin_, I can't help but love her." She rolled onto her side to more comfortably face Qilin. "This is the first time we've been apart, I mean _really_ apart, since we were born. There were only so many of us in the nursery, and after the end of the Secession sometimes kids would go back to Earth with their families for a month. We never did that; Kat couldn't go more than a day or two away from home and matra wanted to make things as stable as she could for us. She doesn't have any family on Earth, anyway; Dad's got a sister, a niece, and two nephews, I think." She smiled thoughtfully. "I've seen a few pictures, but I've never met them."

Qilin played with her shoelace. "You are scared to be alone?"

'Tasja was preparing to rather heatedly refute the accusation when she got a good look at Qilin's face. The other girl looked lonely and rather out-of-place herself. "Yeah. I guess I am. It's good to have the others here, especially going to Earth, but it's not the same; we've grown up together, but they're not family like Kat is. Blood is different, even for us 'Lanteans." She concentrated on smoothing a wrinkle on her duffel. "Do you have any family on Earth?"

Qilin shrugged. "My dad's a marine, but I don't know where he's stationed. He walked out when I was eight; he never came back. For all I know he's dead somewhere. Don't know if any of his family's still alive. My mother's family disowned her for marrying a foreigner. I don't even know where he's from; he was gone a lot even before he left for good."

'Tasja's face softened in sympathy. "I'm so sorry. Cameron's dad died when he was ten; it was horrible. His little sister was only four." She shivered. "It was a bad year."

Qilin shrugged again. "I didn't really know what I was missing, I guess. Just one day he was supposed to come home and didn't." She looked like she wanted to say more, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sarah poked her head in, grinning.

"Come on, guys. We're getting out of here. Ten minutes until we have to assemble at the 'Gate. You ready to go?" Sarah was practically bouncing.

Qilin stood. "I'm ready."

'Tasja looked down at her duffel as if seeing it for the first time. "Not packed! Tchikuso!" She began madly stuffing things into her duffel, heedless of their delicacy.

Qilin winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry I distracted you, but thank you for the conversation." She departed along with Sarah; 'Tasja could hear them talking quietly as they made their way down the hallway to the main lounge.

'Tasja paused in her frantic packing to glare at her mostly full duffel, attempting to encourage it to pack itself. When that failed she crammed the last of her belongings in with a grimace for their lack of organization and zipped it. After all, she thought as she hoisted the strap over her head, it wasn't like things stayed wrinkle-free in a duffel anyway.

She joined the rest of the group by the 'Gate. Everyone was chatting excitedly, glad to be leaving Epsilon 3. She did a quick headcount and realized they were all present; she was the last to arrive. A moment later Colonel McKenzie came striding over from the Main Instruction Hall, clipboard in hand. He ran over a few last reminders, took attendance, and then the 'Gate was activated and they were traveling to Earth.

- - -

The SGC was almost exactly what 'Tasja expected. She had heard about it from the Earthborn time and again, and the real thing fit her mental image perfectly. Heavy on the gunmetal gray, standard complement of soldiers guarding the 'Gate, control room visible from the 'Gate; the only thing she hadn't expected was the material making up the ramp. On that fact alone, she concluded that she definitely preferred the 'Gateroom in Atlantis.

They were all escorted to the infirmary for the required health checks and to ensure that proper immunizations were in place. Unfortunately those who were on their first visit to Earth (Cameron, Qilin, 'Tasja, and a number of the Alpha Site kids she didn't know) lacked immunity to things like measles. Sarah, Robbie, and James had been through it before, and Lisa had grown up on Earth, so they got to hang out in the mess until everyone else was done. Everyone else got lined up for shots. 'Tasja _hated_ shots.

Twenty seven needle sticks and nine unhappy teenagers later, they were escorted from the base. They would be spending their first two days in Colorado Springs before they began their whirlwind tour of the United States - Washington, DC; Chicago, IL; and Monterey, CA. They would have visited Toronto, but the issuing of passports had yet to be completed for those on their first visit to Earth.

The plans alone left 'Tasja reeling, never mind the amount of travel time involved. She'd never been anywhere that wasn't easily accessible by either 'Gate or Puddle Jumper. People didn't _build_ more than a certain distance from the 'Gate unless they were seriously advanced. No one had the population to spare for establishing outlying cities when they'd just be destroyed in a few years. Even with the Wraith all but gone, cullings still happened; it made no sense to leave a population so exposed. The idea of this much sprawl was just baffling. Colorado Springs was larger than most of the groups that traded with Atlantis on a regular basis. The _Genii_ complexes had fewer people (and less every year, if the rumors about fertility problems were true). It would be centuries before any of their trading partners could boast even a single city this size.

The sheer numbers became much more intimidating when there weren't the grounds of the Academy acting as a buffer. When they flew to Washington, DC, capital of the nation, the sheer size of the place was mind-blowing. Once they had landed at Andrew's AFB and were _en route_ to their accommodations in the city, she found herself unable to stop staring. Wave upon wave of buildings, sprawling further than the eye could see. Add to that the haze that lingered in the air, adding another five or six degrees to the already stifling heat, and the chemical smell and she found herself desperately wishing to be home. By the time they arrived at the hotel 'Tasja just wanted to curl up and sleep. Looking around, she found similarly dazed expressions on the faces of the other first-timers.

Once they had deposited their gear, the Colonel split them into three and four person groups with a two-marine escort and distributed maps. They were to explore various landmarks within walking distance and return for evening meal in four hours. They were forbidden to attempt to use the 'Metro', the local mass transit; that was to be a topic for the next day.

'Tasja found herself with Qilin; Sarah, who was sneezing her head off for no obvious reason; and Brad Jones, the boy who had spent three days in the infirmary after an ill-advised sparring match with Sarah and as a result had been avoiding voluntary exposure to the 'Lanteans ever since. After a few moments of discussion and a consultation with their 'escorts', they decided to visit the Air and Space Museum for the amusement value.

While walking to the museum, they passed several large groups in what appeared to be modified uniforms of garish colors; one was an awful shade of green, another bright orange. There was a third group made up of more young children than 'Tasja had ever seen in one place, all wearing bright yellow covers and running around screaming and chasing each other across the cement paths. 'Tasja stopped to watch them for a moment, fascinated by their carelessness. The matrenas obviously watching the children had no weapons, and seemed to show only a token regard for the individual children as they shepherded them slowly toward one of the museums on the other side of what the marines called the 'Mall'.

'Tasja was brought out of her study by a woman to her left who had begun to yell at a small boy running across the dirt; she looked up and realized that her own group was nearing their destination without her. She gave the group of children one last look before breaking into a jog to catch up with her 'team'. They passed through the entrance scans and she found herself spellbound by the craft suspended above the entryway. It was simplistic, with bulky lines and obviously inferior construction materials, but for all of that there was something about it that called to her. She bounced from exhibit to exhibit with a physical excitement, those with her all but forgotten. She paused when she reached the exhibits on space flight and habitation, studying the planes and curves of the retired shuttle and space station with an experienced eye. She'd grown up around mechanical engineers, after all; while it would never come close to a Jumper's capabilities, she could see improvements that could be made to the 'shuttle' to improve its performance. A modification to the wing structure _here_, and a higher efficiency polymer _there_. She was finally dragged away from the exhibit by the other girls; she had lost track of time and they needed to start heading back to the hotel. Brad had wandered off with the other escort and would meet them there.

She spent the whole walk back explaining her theories to Sarah, who was nodding and occasionally replying but seemed generally uninterested. She turned to Qilin to ask her opinion, but received a blank look for her efforts. It was only when Qilin failed to respond to a repetition of the question that 'Tasja realized she'd been speaking Czech. It was a bad habit adopted from her father; when 'Tasja got excited, she switched to Czech because her father followed faster in his native tongue. It had made many a theoretical debate flow more smoothly. She attempted her discussion again in English, but found the girl woefully undereducated in things like structural dynamics. With a sigh she gave up and resolved to commit her impressions to her tablet that evening to share with her father.

The rest of the time in Washington passed remarkably quickly for 'Tasja. The next morning was a Sunday according to the Earth calendar, so they attended a service at the National Cathedral as a supplement to their **Introduction to the Active Practice of Earth Religions** seminar. The ceremony itself was innocuous, if boring. Since her Bat Mitzvah, she'd taken part in a number of native welcoming rituals and festivities with their allies before being allowed to come and go freely. She and Sarah had a rating scale based upon possibility of physical harm, palatability of refreshments, and the boredom factor. This rated _maybe_ a two out of ten.

The uneventful morning was followed by a special tour of the congressional complex with a review of the USA's governmental structure and its differences from the some of the other prominent leadership styles on the planet. 'Tasja spent much of the time zoning the presenters out and thinking about the shuttle from the day before.

That evening they flew to the Great Lakes base and were driven into the city of Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan. As she was settling into her room at the new hotel, 'Tasja was startled by a knock at the door. She opened it to find Qilin outside. The girl spoke softly, staring at her hands. "I thought perhaps you would like some company, since your sister is not here and you have no roommate to distract you."

'Tasja blinked, and realized that until Qilin had mentioned it she hadn't even considered her sister's absence; this was a marked change from her first two nights 'alone' when she'd cried herself to sleep.

"I'm sorry, I must have been mistaken. I'll leave you alone." The girl moved to return to her room, but 'Tasja's hand shot out and she gripped Qilin's arm.

"Wait, please. I... I'd like the company." 'Tasja smiled hopefully. She was rewarded with a bright grin from Qilin, who proceeded to settle on the empty bed in 'Tasja's room. 'Tasja was learning that once the girl actually started to relax she could be quite entertaining.

"So... What did you think of that food at the Mexican restaurant?"

'Tasja settled herself on her own bed and allowed herself to get lost in the meaningless conversation. It wasn't the quiet understanding she was used to from her sister. It wasn't even the distracted muttering that sometimes ran late into the night back home when Kat has discovered some new facet of Atlantis. What it _was_, was enjoyable; Qilin seemed to genuinely like her as 'Tasja and not one of "the Weir Twins." There was something to be said for that. Perhaps life as simply herself wasn't such a bad prospect.

* * *

**Cameron Akeilo (Age 16)**

When the plane touched down at the last stop on their tour of the United States, the military language school in Monterey, California, Cameron was practically bouncing with anticipation. He'd been waiting for this part of the visit since they'd stepped through the 'Gate to Earth. He'd begged and badgered and pleaded with Captain Campbell to get access to his father's personnel file, and the captain had finally given in the week before the departure for BAND Camp. There was only one portion of the file that Cameron had actually been interested in; according to the USMC, Sgt. George Williams had a brother in San Francisco whom he had listed as his next-of-kin. Staying in Monterey meant a chance to visit the city, maybe even meet his uncle. The possibility of meeting his patra's family made the questioning looks from the teachers following Sarah's signature multi-language cursing bouts (the only one worse was James, and his were so rare they didn't count) that much easier to ignore. The curious glances and whispering had been bad enough from the Alpha Site kids in the beginning. He understood that the Monterey base was a language school, but that didn't mean he wanted to be studied.

The next morning Cameron was up before everyone else, unable to sleep; he'd been up for over an hour when Robbie blearily knocked on his door to get him up for their morning run. After breakfast the group was shepherded into a smaller airplane, amusingly enough called a puddle jumper, and they flew into San Francisco. The morning was spent touring historic landmarks and the demonstration of public transportation in forms other than the 'Metro' example shown in Washington. Cameron paid little attention, instead watching the time creep by. The afternoon was their final 'test'; they would be allowed to wander unsupervised in small groups until 1730 when they had to return for the evening meal and would then attend a local dramatic performance.

Cameron was lucky enough to be paired with 'Tasja and Qilin for the afternoon. He and 'Tasja had always gotten along well, bonding over their lack of The Gene; Qilin, while quiet, seemed to have a subtle sense of humor to go with her soft features. He also knew that 'Tasja would understand when he explained his plans for the afternoon; it was her first time on Earth as well, and she had cousins that she had never met.

Having written and re-written mission plans for this day since he had first learned about BAND Camp, Cameron didn't need to think about what he was doing anymore. After the mid-day meal, he dragged the girls down the street to the nearest phone booth and made them wait while he made his call. It had taken very little to convince 'Tasja not to rat him out, and Qilin had followed along silently. Now everything, all of his hopes for a group who would accept him because he was _blood,_ one of _them_, came down to this. Still, he'd never allowed himself to think beyond 'first contact'. When a voice that sounded painfully like his patra's answered the phone, he almost dropped the receiver in surprise. His voice caught in his throat; he couldn't make himself speak. This was what he'd been waiting for, yet only now did he realize that he had no idea what to say to the man on the other end of the line.

"Hello? Hello?"

"Um, Hi. You don't... I mean, you probably haven't..." Cameron paused and took a deep breath, collecting himself. "I'm looking for the brother of George Williams."

There was a pause. "This is Christopher Williams, but my brother's been dead over ten years now. If you're looking to reach him you're out of luck."

"No, no, I was attempting to reach you. I would like to meet with you, if possible."

"I'm sorry. Who _are_ you? Have we met? Did you know my brother? What is this about?"

Cameron gripped the phone tighter, the receiver warm in the afternoon sun. "My name in Cameron Akeilo. You are my uncle."

There was a shocked silence from the other end of the line, and Cameron noticed 'Tasja peering inside at him in concern. He waved her off. "Sir?"

"I'm here. I'm here. This had better not be a joke."

"It's not. There were... reasons you never knew about me. I'll explain, but perhaps I could do it in person? I am only here for a short time, but would very much like to meet you."

"In person? Christ, you're in the city? Listen, kid, I can leave work in an hour, I'll meet you in Golden Gate Park by the main entrance in an hour and a half."

"How will I-" There was a click, and the connection was severed. Cameron stared at the now-useless receiver helplessly, then shrugged. Realizing this was all he would get, and that it was far more than he could have hoped for, as the conversation sank in he allowed himself a moment of triumph. His uncle, his _blood_ uncle, was going to meet with him. He really did have family and roots on Earth, even if his patra had never spoken much about them. They were still family. Matra had family before the Fugitta, but her sister had been in a neighboring camp and not fled to Atlantis with the rest when the culling had occurred; they had never found bodies but there had been no hope of survivors. The planet had been scoured clear.

The trio made their way to the park, glad for the chance to look over the water again. Of the places they'd visited on their trip to Earth, this was the closest to the atmosphere of Atlantis that they had encountered. The girls waited with him, 'Tasja quietly telling Qilin stories about home while he paced nervously. When it grew close to the appointed time, after he'd assured them he'd be fine, the girls left to browse the shops they'd passed on the walk over with the understanding that they'd return in two hours time. 'Tasja had been wary of leaving him alone, the cardinal rule of the Pegasus Galaxy being 'Go Nowhere Alone', but she had conceded that he was more than capable of taking care of himself.

Cameron stood by the main entrance to the park and looked at his watch for the sixth time in five minutes; it was now 14:30, when his uncle had said he would arrive. Cameron looked around anxiously, worried that he would not be able to recognize the man he was meeting. Just as he debated pacing again, he caught sight of his uncle. It couldn't _not_ be, the stranger looked too much like his father to be unrelated. The man approached him slowly, hands in his pockets; he did not stop walking until he was arms length away, and Cameron held his breath. This was _it_, what he'd been waiting for since he had learned he had other living family. The man cocked his head in obvious thought, then pulled one of his hands out of his pocket and offered it in greeting.

"So, Cameron, right?"

Cameron nodded. "Cameron Akeilo."

"I'll be honest with you, kid. I didn't really think you'd be here; I figured it was just a prank. It's been five, maybe six years since I even talked to anyone about George. See, I got a call a good fifteen years ago saying that George was MIA, presumed dead. Then nine years later I got another call that confirmed that he was KIA. They asked me if I wanted his body brought home; I told 'em I didn't know where we'd bury him and just to put him in Arlington. Got a letter from some doctor talking about what a great guy he was, same thing from some Colonel that said he was his CO. Never heard anything about him leaving behind kids, though. The military didn't really say much of anything in the official stuff." He watched his uncle begin to walk further into the park, heading to the edge overlooking the ocean, and followed.

Cameron took a deep breath to steel himself, not wanting to talk about his father's death but knowing that he needed to say something. "He did die six years ago, in the line of duty. He got caught in an attack; they were able to rescue him but it was too late. He died before they got him home. Matra begged and pleaded to be allowed to tell his family herself; she'd wanted to meet you for years, for us to have blood relations beyond closest kin. Patra said we had to wait until Sai, my sister, was old enough before he'd allow us to meet you. Then he died, and even if we wanted to we _couldn't_ come to meet you because officially we didn't exist. The US government didn't want to consider the marriage valid, so she had no rights." He took a shaky breath. "I... There were reasons, and they made a lot of sense to the people who made the rules, but it still hurt." Cameron looked up to find his uncle staring at him, gaze skeptical but kind. He placed a comforting hand on Cameron's shoulder.

"Look, kid. I don't know what to tell you. Hell, if you didn't look so much like George I'd think you were making it up, but you do. Our family was never the most stable of things; there was a reason he ran for the Marine Corps when he was eighteen. Mom never forgave him for that, said he abandoned all of us and it was selfish. Me? I understood it, I almost did the same thing when I got old enough but I was the youngest, Mom needed me. So I stuck around until I couldn't take it and then I moved out here. None of us really speak anymore. Your dad and I, we'd just started talking again when he got an offer for some new posting. After that he just vanished, posted to Antarctica or something; the military told me they couldn't get reliable mail so not to send anything. After that I got the occasional letter, but it wasn't a big surprise when I got told he was MIA, even less when they confirmed his death. By then, I hadn't even seen him face to face in over a decade. He chose his career; I figured he knew the risks. I don't think Mom shed a tear, and I know Sue didn't."

Cameron watched his uncle in growing horror at the image of his father's family that was developing in his mind. He had heard stories from the other kids about the weird and 'dysfunctional' families that their Earthborn parents had; however, this wasn't merely non-functioning, this was disturbing. No one had ever been cast out for a choice of profession, among the newer population or the Athosians. You didn't deny your calling; it weakened the whole community if you did. He'd heard the adults talk about Earth and how they didn't feel like they'd left anything behind, but it had never occurred to him that this included living family. Family was everything in Athosian society, because often family was around for far too short a time. It was the bond of _blood_, an unbreakable tie, and far too rare to just throw away. This was nothing like he'd imagined; even if his patra had been reluctant to talk about his childhood, Cameron had assumed that his patra's family would care about the member they had lost.

His...uncle had continued speaking while he had been quietly freaking out. When the man finished he focused more closely on Cameron again, a wry grin on his face. "So, welcome to the family, kid. I don't believe that lying does anyone any good, so I'll tell it to you honestly. I'm your Uncle Chris, and I'm probably the only one who will ever talk to you."

Cameron swallowed hard. "We're blood. That has to count for something."

Chris scoffed. "Where did you grow up? Blood runs thinner than water in some parts. Hell, Dad left us when I was two, never came back again. How's that for blood?"

Cameron felt sick. Back home, no one abandoned a child. You didn't _have_ one unless you knew both parents wanted it. You needed two parents, because it was all too likely one would die before the child was grown; life in the Pegasus Galaxy could be unforgiving. Even with all of the precautions and care options available in the city, no one wanted to be an orphan. "But how could he? There was no punishment? No societal controls? He could just do that to his own children?"

Chris blinked at him, confused. "You've got some strange ideas of normal, kid; I'll give you that much. Wherever it is you're from, I think I might have liked growing up there. " He looked around for a minute. "Listen, there's a place a bit up the road with good ice cream, you want to take this inside, maybe sit down and you can tell me more about yourself?"

Cameron nodded blankly and followed without conscious thought, trying to come to grips with this unfamiliar image of 'family'.

- - -

They spoke of trivial things at the ice cream shop, unwilling to dig into family politics again on either side. Cameron's matra was only mentioned once, in passing. They talked about what universities Cameron was considering, what he wanted to do with his life, Chris's job (he was an architect), and San Francisco. They returned to the park at the same time as the girls, 'Tasja dragging Qilin by the hand and speaking loudly in what sounded like mutilated Chinese while waving about a bag of purchases. The two stopped when they caught sight of Cameron and 'Tasja waved hesitantly.

_"Oi, Cameron. How'd it go?"_ She called over, smiling brightly.

He smiled back, relieved at the sight of familiar faces. _"Better than worse."_ It wasn't really an answer, but it quieted her anyway. She shared a look with Qilin and the two returned to their butchery of Mandarin; he was pretty sure it was Qilin's matra's language so the oddness might simply have been an effect of 600 years of evolution, but one could never be sure. He turned back to Chris and found himself pulled into a hug.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to know George went on with his life and I'm glad to meet you. Wouldn't mind meeting your sister sometime, too. I'm here if you're ever in town again, I mean that. It's nice to talk to family that doesn't hate my guts."

Cameron returned the embrace, then drew back and stepped away. "I will remember. Be well." He waved as 'Tasja started dragging him down the street, a worried look in her eyes. He waited until they were out of earshot before stopping her. "What was that all about?"

'Tasja looked innocent; he was pretty sure she wasn't. "Um, nothing?" He crossed his arms and settled in to wait; he might have only been a year older, but he was still her senior. She caved sooner than he expected. "All right, fine. You looked upset. Not really upset, but just _sad_. Not like I thought you'd look. What happened?"

Cameron shrugged. "He's my uncle; we talked and went down the street for ice cream and then we came back. That's it."

'Tasja shook her head. "No, Cameron. See, you're not happy and enthusiastic and excited and telling us all about your relatives. What was wrong?"

He sighed. "He hadn't spoken to Patra since he was assigned to Atlantis; I expected that. I mean, Patra didn't have letters from home like some of the guys do. But before that _none of the family_ had spoken to him since he left home at eighteen. He was just written off, and they never looked back. Chris is a nice man, and he is blood, but it was nothing like I expected."

Qilin spoke then, she'd been so quiet he'd almost forgotten about her. "That is why I have never sought my father's family. Mama's family disowned her for marrying a foreigner; her tribe cast her out. That means I have no tribe either, since I'm a half-blood. My father left us; why should his family behave any differently? If he's still alive, it would be unpleasant. If he's not there would be doubts about my honesty. It is better not to know." Her eyes were sad.

"But it shouldn't be that way. Family members take care of each other: matras, patras, even matrenas. Children are _wanted_. Even if a relationship fails, the child is not to blame." He reached over and picked up one of 'Tasja's bags before starting to walk again; the two girls hurried after. When he spoke again his voice was quieter, yet filled with distress. "I don't understand how they could do that and think it normal. He was _not_ cast out in any way that should have mattered; he committed no crime by the laws of his society, he joined the marines to _serve_... How can people live in a world like that?"

'Tasja spoke quietly from behind him. "I don't know. I think it depends on the people; I have heard nothing of that nature from my patra about his family. He doesn't speak very much with his sister, but merely because they have grown apart since their parents died." He heard her stop walking, and obligingly paused as well, thinking about her words. A colorful Czech exclamation caught his attention and he turned to face her; she was standing looking at her watch. She looked up and met his gaze. "Um, it's 1725..."

He and Qilin both paled. Cameron pulled the map out of his pocket and did some quick figuring. "We're never going to make it by 1730."

Qilin was suddenly in full-timid mode. "How late will we be?"

He winced and double checked his route. "How fast can you run?"

"Ten, perhaps eleven kilometers per hour?"

Cameron grabbed the heaviest of her bags. "Not too late, then. Let's go"

As the three tore through the streets, trying desperately not to tear the shopping bags and just barely avoiding running down the occasional pedestrian, Cameron realized that it might not matter if he never met the rest of his patra's family. They wouldn't understand him like 'Tasja did, or even like Qilin did. They weren't his people, as much as he might wish it. His patra had once told him 'You can't change what you are; you can change the face of a beast but the beast will remain.' Patra had been talking about the Wraithborn, but Cameron could see that it applied to the 'Lanteans as well. He would never _not_ be 'Lantean, even if he lived on Earth the rest of his life. Like Specialist Dex would always be Satedan. Maybe that was in the blood, too.

* * *

**Home**

It was organized chaos in the 'Gateroom when the children returned from BAND Camp. All of the parents who could arrange to be in-city and off-duty had congregated, and while the room was large it also echoed. Elizabeth Weir stood on the balcony overlooking the 'Gate and watched as families were reunited, savoring the mix of excitement and the unique teenaged air of 'why do I have to put up with this?' that seemed an intergalactic constant.

She watched as the initial rush faded to knots of families and friends on the floor below. Over by the doors was Sarah, who had been the first through both going and returning, deep in discussion with Rodney. From her hand gestures, Elizabeth couldn't tell if she was describing stick fighting or cake decorating; Rodney was gesticulating just as furiously while John tossed out obviously provocative interjections. Then there was Robbie Cadman, parked near the base of the stairs with his younger sister perched on his back. He appeared to be getting congratulations from his mother for something; Elizabeth would bet from the look on Carson's face that it was the number of times the boy had ended up on Disciplinary Detail. The colonel had included a note on that particular subject; it hadn't been pleasant. The other dramatic greeting seemed to be Cameron Akeilo, who had his mother in a hug that looked painfully tight. Elizabeth made a mental note to ask Teyla what that had been about when the opportunity arose.

She was brought out of her study by a tap on her arm. She turned and smiled to find Kat watching the group below with a wistful expression. Elizabeth placed an arm around her daughter's shoulders, "I wish your homecoming could have been like that."

Kat shrugged in a good attempt at indifference. "It got me out of a week of it, so... Not all bad."

Elizabeth squeezed her shoulder gently. "I would have given anything for you to have been able to have what they have, for you not to be bound to this city. You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt, you know."

Kat leaned into her mother's side, resting her head on the familiar shoulder. "Why does it hurt? It shouldn't; she tells me it shouldn't, but it does. I'm not like everyone else; I'll never be like everyone else. I don't even want to be like everyone else, to not be able to hear her this way; so why does it hurt?"

Elizabeth kissed her forehead, letting her thumb soothingly stroke her daughter's arm. "Because you're still human, Kat. Part of being human is wanting to fit in; you're not immune to that. No one is, even Dr. McKay."

Kat giggled, and Elizabeth knew her point had been taken as intended. A moment later Kat stepped away, composing herself and leaning back over the railing watching those below, almost immediately waving at someone below. _"'Tasja, up here!"_

Elizabeth heard an answering shout and the sound of running feet on the stairs. She watched the two embrace and begin speaking quickly, and couldn't stop the proud smile from taking over. When 'Tasja finally turned to her mother for a hug, Elizabeth gave up trying. 'Tasja was babbling on about the aircraft she had seen on Earth, her words too fast for Elizabeth to follow. She held up a hand to stop the flow. "Your father is in his lab; his knee wasn't up to much walking or he would have been here. I'm sure he'd be delighted to hear all about your theories on aerodynamic flow." 'Tasja's face lit up and before Elizabeth could admonish them they were sprinting down the stairs to the nearest transporter. She sighed and shook her head; everything was back to normal.

- - - - -

James knew something was wrong as soon as his parents met him at the 'Gateroom. His worries increased when Patra asked Robbie's parents to watch Michael for them. He started trying to sort through the possibilities as they walked. They wanted to talk to him alone, so it obviously wasn't something that affected the family seriously. They always had _those_ talks with Michael. Dad believed in discussing things as a family, and Patra never felt like arguing. That was how things worked at home, Dad decided how things would be and Patra would shrug and say "sounds fine"; Patra said he spent his days fighting with the locals, he wasn't going to fight with his husband too. James could only remember a few times when his parents had seriously argued; it was always over major decisions, never small things.

When they'd returned to their quarters his fears were confirmed; Patra indicated that he should take a seat on the couch, Dad pulled one of the desk chairs over to face the couch and sat down, and Patra remained standing and assumed his 'interrogation' face. James swallowed hard and decided to try to talk his way out of whatever he was supposed to have done. "Dad, Patra, I'm not sure exactly what it is you're upset about, but I swear I didn't do it."

His parents shared a look of amusement and he relaxed; this couldn't be that serious. Then Patra clasped his hands behind his back and stopped wandering and James realized it just might be that bad after all. Patra broke the new silence. "The initial reports from the camp came back with Kat. Do you know what yours said?"

James shifted uneasily. "Um, no?"

Patra crossed his arms over his chest. "Try again."

Dad cut in at that point, his voice quiet but firm. "They said you'd been fighting, James." His face eliminated the need for him to voice his reaction: _We're very disappointed in you._

"'Instigated multiple incidents with non-Atlantis children, resulting in confinement to the infirmary of no less than 5 children.' I would love to hear an explanation for that."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time?" James gave a weak smile.

Patra's control frayed visibly; he began pacing the area in front of the main door, turning his head to keep James in view. "Wrong answer. _Nothing_ justifies that kind of use of force on other humans, especially not civilians." His volume increased with each new offense. "Two separate altercations. Disciplinary Detail with added night-shift work. You went AWOL for most of a night. Where did this come from?"

Dad reached out and caught Patra on his next circuit, stopping him with a hand on his wrist; his gaze never left James. "James, you know you've always been able to talk to us. This kind of report isn't like you. I'd expect this kind of thing out of Michael, but not you."

James stared at the wall just over Dad's head. "You weren't there. First of all, it was only one fight. I don't know what the second thing they're talking about is; maybe it was something in hand-to-hand. I don't even remember a lot of the fight; it all kind of blurred once the first punch got thrown. As for the going AWOL..." He sighed and slouched down, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his hands in his hair. "It wasn't just me; it was all of us. I know that's no excuse, but things are so different there. We needed some time alone; we didn't do any harm, we just wanted somewhere people weren't staring at us." He looked up, his voice hushed. "We're so different from them; it's like we were speaking different languages even when we were all using English. There was nowhere to go to get away from it, we just had to take it."

Dad's features softened and he stood, crossing to ruffle James' hair before stepping to the door. "I'm going to let you and your father sort the rest of this out." His face grew stern. "I expect you both to be in one piece when I return, all right?"

"Yes, Dad."

Dad left, disappearing through the front door. That was how it went when James got in trouble; once the basic truth was sorted out and general displeasure expressed then Dad would leave and let Patra find out what had really happened and decide how severe the punishment should be. It wasn't that Dad _didn't_ take part in the decision, just that James had always gotten along better with Patra; they understood each other without a lot of talking. Michael was the opposite; he had inherited his more volatile nature from Dad. The two had been having 'aggravated debates' since Michael was three, and both Patra and James knew enough to leave them to it.

Once the doors closed behind Dad, James felt the couch beside him dip with Patra's weight. A hand rested a hand on his back and began to move in the slow motions he had found soothing for as long as he could remember. It was several long moments before Patra spoke.

"So, lost your temper, huh?"

James shrugged noncommittally.

"Must have been pretty bad to make you lose your temper. You want to talk about it?"

James shook his head hard; he wondered if he did it enough if he could just dislodge the memories.

"You want the universal truth?"

He turned to cock his head at Patra, curious. Patra caught his gaze, face serious.

"People are assholes."

James snickered, he couldn't help it. Soon the two were laughing hard at the observation. He relaxed back against the couch, breathing deeply and releasing the tension that had been building up since he'd left four weeks earlier. He had survived the experience, and he had come out with more knowledge than he had gone in. All the same, it was good to be home.

- - - - -

When Qilin stepped through the 'Gate to the Alpha Site, there was a crowd gathered, but no one to meet her; her mother was nowhere in sight. Her mother had warned her that she would most likely have to work when the students returned, but Qilin had hoped someone would be kind enough to trade shifts; apparently that hadn't happened. With a sigh she hoisted her duffel over her shoulder and headed toward the civilian quarters that she shared with her mother. Her mother was a nursing assistant at the chronically understaffed base clinic; Qilin was used to arriving home alone.

It had never bothered her before; most of the children on base had busy parents. Like what she'd heard of Atlantis, there was a 23-hour drop-in center for the children of military personnel; unlike Atlantis, civilian personnel had only limited facilities available in addition to the on-base school. After her father had vanished for good, Qilin had stopped going to the military drop-in; she didn't know if that had been because of the rules or because her mother no longer trusted the Earth military. She hadn't minded all that much; the first few years there had been only a couple children, but as regulations changed more children started transferring in from Earth with their parents. The older the children transferring in, the stranger the looks she received - as though _she_ was the newcomer. Given the way they all whispered about 'the aliens' you'd think she and the Jaffa children had blue tails or something. She'd been just as happy to spend time after school with one of her mother's co-workers or a friend's family.

Qilin swiped her ID card in the lock of her quarters and walked in on auto-pilot, immediately heading to her room to deposit her duffel. She was distracted by sounds emanating from the small kitchen and looked in out of curiosity as she passed by; what she saw was enough to give her pause. Her mother stood in front of the stove making Lasta cakes. They hadn't had Lasta cakes in _years_; when Qilin was ten her mother had stopped cooking dishes from her homeworld because she said it reminded her of things she couldn't have and there was no point. Qilin had spent months after that begging her mother to make the cakes again, but she had never been successful.

Qilin set down her duffel in the hallway and stepped into the kitchen, hesitant to disturb her mother yet intrigued by the preparations. Wary of the dangers of a hot cooking surface, she waited until her mother removed the current batch before speaking. "Mama?"

Her mother dropped the ceramic plate she had been using and it hit the countertop with a clatter as she spun to face Qilin. "You're early!"

Qilin blinked. "No... We came through right on schedule." She reached over to steal a warm cake from the plate. "Are these for _me?_"

Her mother smiled and nodded. "I wanted to do something special for your homecoming. I was going to meet you at the 'Gate, but here you are." Her smile turned sheepish, and Qilin grinned in response. "I must have lost track of the time."

Qilin gasped in mock horror. "Surely not!" She received a swipe with the dish towel from the counter for her efforts.

"Put your things away in your room and then I want to hear all about your adventures. You must leave nothing out. But first go! Scoot!" She brandished her dishtowel at Qilin who leapt giggling from the room to follow her mother's orders. She set her duffel next to her bed and paused for a moment, looking at the intricate embroidery on the wall that was one of the only things her mother still possessed from her childhood on PNX-286. Qilin wondered who had been the go-between to acquire the ingredients for the sweetcakes cooling in the kitchen. The Jing-dai had cast her mother out and refused to speak to her again. Now that she was older Qilin understood why her mother had stopped using the rare nuts and fruits; everytime Zhing-mae asked someone to trade for her it was like a slap in the face. The Jing-dai had turned their backs on her and her family, so she in turn had attempted to leave behind her culture. Qilin herself could barely speak the Jing-dai language, something the Earthborn called 'Man-da-ren'. It brought into sudden clarity the attitudes of the 'Lantean children she had grown to know; Earth had abandoned their parents, so they saw no reason not to abandon Earth.

She stood, giving the needlepoint one final look before turning her back on it and following the scent of the Lasta cakes to the kitchen. Her mother loved her enough to bake the cakes again; she loved her mother enough to respect the pain involved. Perhaps the month apart had been a blessing, allowing them to remember who they were and giving them the chance to look forward instead of back. Who you were could be defined by so much or so little; all they had was each other, but it might be enough.

- - - - -

Elaine Kirnov waited anxiously outside of the security checkpoint at O'Hare Airport, watching the arriving passengers for her daughter. "I'm going to go check the monitors again in case there's been an update."

Karen Pulaski, her partner of 17 years, took her firmly by the arm. "You will do no such thing. You checked two minutes ago; they're not going to change her status from 'landed' to 're-routed to Cleveland' at this point. Here I thought I was going to be the nervous one. I didn't even want to let her go to this thing."

There was a surge of people coming through the doors, and Elaine shifted her attention back to the new arrivals. "I hope she had a good time. She _sounded_ happy when she called last week. I just hope nothing happened. She's only sixteen, she's still so young." She felt Karen place a reassuring hand at the small of her back, but then her attention was drawn to a teenaged figure in jeans and an Air Force Academy T-Shirt. She grinned and waved at her daughter, catching her gaze. Lisa's face lit up with a grin as she made her way over to her mothers.

After the requisite hugs had been performed, the three women made their way to the baggage claim. Lisa chattered the whole way about what a wonderful time she'd had and how great it had been to see Sarah and everyone else. Elaine wondered what she _wasn't_ saying, but hoped it was nothing important. Once Lisa's duffel had been acquired, the same one that had carried her things to Earth from Atlantis, they took the CTA into the city for a quiet evening at home. Lisa's adrenaline lasted three steps into the house before she started drooping. Elaine stifled a laugh and carried her daughter's bag up to her room for her.

They were quietly preparing dinner when Lisa abruptly changed topics. "So I'm thinking about going to graduate school in Boulder."

Elaine's head shot up. "I'm sorry?"

Lisa gave her a look that Elaine found disturbingly similar to one that Dr. McKay had favored in staff meetings; while terribly out of place, it was also effective. Lisa repeated the previous sentence at half-speed. "I'm thinking about going to graduate school in Boulder. Colorado. University of Colorado?"

Karen set down the spoon she had been using on the stroganoff and folded her arms. "Graduate school is what, two years away? Three if you don't take summer classes? Where is this coming from?"

Lisa shrugged. "Well, they've got a good research rating and a good ecology department and..." the rest was mumbled too quietly to understand. Elaine shook her head in exasperation.

"Let's try that one again."

Lisa looked defensive. "I said they've got a good research rating and a good ecology department."

"And?"

Lisa sighed. "It's near Cheyenne Mountain, and Robbie's looking at going to the Academy for his exchange year so he'd be less than an hour away."

Elaine glanced over at Karen and gave her an inquisitive look, but Karen shook her head indicating she knew nothing either. "And what does Robbie's exchange year have to do with things?"

Lisa picked up the carrot she had been peeling, stabbing it into the table as she spoke. "Nothing. We just got to talking about what we were doing, where we were going to be going to school or hoped to, that kind of thing. _Normal_ stuff."

Elaine nodded skeptically. "Right..."

Lisa slammed the carrot down onto the table, the move uncharacteristic for the normally contained girl. _"Why does it have to mean something? Why can't I just want to be near someone who actually understands me? What's so wrong with that?"_

Elaine blinked; Lisa hadn't used Ancient in years, even when she was upset. "Lisa, I didn't mean it like that."

_"Yes. Yes you did, you meant it exactly like that. You never missed home like I did, you never cared. So you can't even believe that's what this is. Robbie gets it because he's **like** me."_ Lisa threw up her hands in disgust and stalked out of the room. _"I can't believe you..."_

Elaine rose to go after her, but Karen stopped her. "Let her go. She's a teenager, we knew this had to happen sooner or later. It'll blow over."

Elaine slumped back down in her chair, unconvinced. She had a feeling that while this incident might blow over, the sentiment behind it was all too real. She was too old to move back to Atlantis; she hadn't missed that life for years now. She was happy in Chicago. She had tenure at a prestigious university, Karen had a position with a marine wildlife protection agency, this was _home,_ but not for Lisa. Never for Lisa. Over the years they'd hoped that she would grow out of what they had jokingly called the 'sea longing'. She had seemed to, even if she was still refusing to integrate with other children past basic pleasantries.

Now, Elaine realized that Lisa had merely adapted, never truly acclimated. She'd never smiled as brightly as she had that afternoon when she'd spoken of her summer, not in all the years since they'd moved. Elaine wasn't a fool, she knew what she saw in her daughter's eyes. She saw hope. She looked over at Karen again, a sad smile on her face. "What's to blow over? She's learned she can go home. How can I begrudge her that?"

**Addendum**

Official Missive From the Desk of Colonel Mark McKenzie, USAF 

August 23, 2024

General Mitchell,

It is my recommendation that the experiment of this summer not be repeated. Attempts to combine the training of Alpha Site and Atlantis children into a single four-week program were markedly unsuccessful on all fronts.

Basic Acclimation & Non-Disclosure (BAND) Camp has, in past, been a very effective method for preparing off-world children to enter the Earth population with minimal security risk. It has been my honor to supervise this endeavor and aid children raised on the Alpha Site in their adaptation to life on Earth. However, as we have discovered this summer, Atlantis and the Alpha Site are two vastly different points of origin.

Children hailing from the Alpha Site demonstrate a far better basic understanding of Earth cultural norms, as well as a more compatible set of behaviors for integration. In short, the Atlantis children ('Lanteans, as they insisted upon calling themselves) have shown themselves to be rude, physically violent, and immune to routine discipline. A list of specific incidents is attached. In addition to the frequent disciplinary problems, there was also an incident involving medical care for one of the Atlantis children which resulted in said child being evacuated to Atlantis.

If you should decide to ignore my recommendation, I strongly urge you to establish two parallel course structures for the two groups, with appropriate modifications to accommodate problem topics. In any case, in order to successfully integrate the Atlantis children, a more complete study of modern Atlantis culture is required. Barring that, a longer training session may be the most effective option available. I recommend consultation with Dr. K. Heightmeyer, MD. She was the psychiatrist assigned to the original Atlantis Expedition. I am not aware if she currently resides on Earth or in Atlantis, but her advice would be invaluable.

Sincerely,

Mark McKenzie

Post Script: For your consideration I am enclosing a list of ordnance lost or destroyed during the course of the program.


	5. Appendix A: Glossary of Terms

_**Ripples in the Space Between**_

**Glossary of Terms **

**A.S.V.** - Acronym for _Atlantis Space Vessel_, designation preceding all 'Lantean ship names. Originally classified as A.S.S. (Atlantis Space Ship), the notation was changed at the suggestion of Colonel Sheppard after the first six weeks of bad jokes.

**Bar/Bat Mitzvah** - (noun) The ceremony marking the transition in status from child to young adult in 'Lantean society. Conducted once an individual has successfully completed 'Basic Training' on The Mainland at the age of 13. The title of the ceremony originates in Jewish religious practices, but the ceremony itself is secular on Atlantis.

**Basic Training** - (noun)  
1. The 10 week training regimen conducted for non-Earthborn 'Lanteans who wished to join the service of the Atlantis Military.  
2. The 4 week training regimen conducted for 'Lantean children the summer of their 13th year. The training includes basic explosives instruction, proper usage of semi and fully-automatic Earth Weaponry, and proper diplomatic interactions when off-world.

**Biki Pox** - (noun) A viral pathogen native to planet BKX-882. Similar to the native Earth disease "Chicken Pox"

**Change, The** - (noun) Refers to the transformation undergone by a Wraith who is given the retroviral therapy designed by Dr. Carson Beckett to remove Iratus DNA from their system. 18 months of treatment are required to ensure that the transformation remains permanent. (For more information on the Wraith, see the appendix on Wraith Relations)

**Earthborn** - (noun, adj) Refers to a human born on the planet Earth. Used as a cultural title for the Atlantis Expedition beginning with the Year of Secession.

**Fugitta** - (noun) Annual ceremony marking the date the Athosians fled Athos and began their new lives in and around the City of the Ancients. As of 2008, the Year of Secession, it became the first official holiday of the City of Atlantis, and was subsequently celebrated without fail by Earthborn and Athosian alike.

**Iratus Bug** - (noun) The creature from which the Wraith evolved. Roughly 20-30cm in size, resembling an Earth fly with fangs and a protruding tail. The bugs are parasitic, draining a host completely and then moving on to the next. Once one attaches, it cannot be removed from a victim prior to the victim's death.

**'Lantean** - (noun, adj) Refers to someone from the planet which is home to Atlantis, City of the Ancients. 'Lantean can refer to one born on that world, or one who has acquired citizenship through legal means.

**Lasta Cakes** - (noun) A sweet cake made by the Jing-dai tribe of PNX-286. The name "Lasta" comes from a nut native to the planet; it is ground into a fine flour and mixed with dried berries, milk, and eggs before baking at high temperature. As well as being a regional delicacy, the Lasta itself was a trade staple of the Jing-dai for many centuries.

**Mainland, The** - (noun) The single continent on the world containing the City of Atlantis. The continent itself extends to within 50 km of either magnetic pole, and encompasses roughly a quarter of the planet's surface.

**Matra** - (noun) Athosian term for mother. From the Ancient "matar" for "one who carries life"

**Matrena** - (noun) Athosian term for caretaker, specifically of children. From the Ancient "matrana" for surrogate mother.

**Patra** - (noun) Athosian term for father. From the Ancient "patar", the formal form of father.

**Plague, The** - (noun) The disease which struck the Wraith on a pandemic scale beginning 4 years after the Earthborn arrived in the Pegasus Galaxy. Eventually determined to be a mutated strain of the normally non-fatal Varicella which jumped species during Lt. Col. Sheppard's Iratus infection, the disease was airborne and had an incubation rate of 1-2 years before striking with 99 fatality. Due to the nature of the virus' mutation, it struck only the Iratus DNA present in the Wraith, those who accepted retrovirus therapy and had the DNA purged survived encounters with the disease. It is estimated that the disease wiped out over 80 of the total Wraith population in the Pegasus Galaxy.

**Qilin** - (proper noun) (Pronounced Tchee-linn) traditional female given name in China (Earth).

**Rising Ceremony** - (noun) An Athosian celebration marking a child's entry as a speaking member of the group. Thought to have originated due to high infant mortality rates, a child is considered an infant until the age of three, when they 'rise' and become a part of society proper.

**Wraithborn** - (noun, adj) Refers to an individual who has successfully completed gene therapy to the purpose of purging the Iratus DNA from their system permanently and leading a human life. For many years the term was derogatory. Following the successful (and reasonably safe) integration of the crew of a Hive Ship, it merely became a descriptive. No literature is available at this time regarding potential interbreeding between Wraithborn and natural humans (For more information on the Wraith, see the article titled The Modern Wraith).

**Year of Secession** - (noun) Refers to 2008, the year Earth broke contact with the Atlantis Expedition. Term used by the Earthborn to specify the momentous event and the difficult year that followed as adaptation was accomplished. In clarification: Refers only to the first year after break of contact; the actual Secession lasted over 3 years.


	6. Appendix B: The Modern Wraith

**_Ripples in the Space Between_**

**The Modern Wraith**  
Excerpt from the _Encyclopedia Atlantica_, 2050 Edition

** History**

The Wraith as they are known in the common era evolved as a result of the feeding habits of the _Iratus Bug_. The Iratus Bug fed on humans; after hundreds of years a mutation occurred which mixed the DNA of the two species and led to completely new species, the Wraith. This new species suffered a massive population boom; in the process they destroyed the Ancients' sphere of influence in the Pegasus Galaxy. They also came very close to wiping out both the Ancients and humans in general before realizing that they needed a sustainable food source. At the conclusion of the first Siege of Atlantis, the Ancients fled through their Stargate to Earth, in the Milky Way Galaxy, and were never seen again.

When the Earthborn Atlantis Expedition arrived in the Pegasus Galaxy, the Wraith had been the controlling influence for close to 10,000 years. The Wraith had established a pattern of behavior allowing their human "herds" to grow in size to a certain level and then culling them for feeding; retaining a set base population as well as eradicating any attempts at technological development beyond what was required for basic survival. Between feeding periods the humans would be supervised at a distance by a few assigned "Keepers". Major John Sheppard, in efforts to retrieve victims of a culling, triggered a mass awakening some 50 years before it was expected. According to current estimates somewhere between 70-100 Wraith Hive Ships became active; a number unseen since the time of the Ancients.

**Physical Appearance**

Due to the mixing of genetics, Wraith closely resemble humans at first glance. They are bipedal, possessing two upper limbs and opposable thumbs, hair that grows from the head on both sexes, and facial hair on the male sex. Skin tone is universally pale, although variation does occur among the population, from white to a pale green or yellow. While their faces are similar to those of humans, there are distinctive differences. Wraith possess no molars, only carnivorous pointed teeth of varying size. There are also characteristic pock-marks on the face. All Wraith possess some latent telepathic skill. The extent is unknown.

The population breakdown of the Wraith is unconfirmed; however, recent studies have indicated that the social and gender distribution is similar to that of the insect they evolved from. Each hive is ruled by a Queen, the only visible female. There are likely 'sterile' females in residence who function similarly to the male officers; this allows for the death of a queen to be overcome with minimal detriment to the Hive.

**The Great Plague**

One year after arrival in the Pegasus Galaxy, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard became infected with a retrovirus designed by Doctor Carson Beckett that had been intended to remove Iratus DNA from a Wraith, leaving behind only the human DNA. However, the retrovirus was incomplete, and the colonel instead underwent severe mutation. While the infection was eventually cured and Sheppard returned to his previous state, he had contact with numerous Wraith while suffering various symptoms of the change. During this time a virus (Later identified as _varicella-zoster_, common name Chicken Pox), which had existed inert within his system mutated in response to the molting phase induced by the Iratus infection and became active again. The mutated virus was harmless to humans, thus went unnoticed; it also showed no short-term effect on the Wraith.

Almost two years later rumor began to circulate the human worlds about Wraith ghost ships, Hive Ships that did not return fire when attacked, not even dispatching dart. In Earth Equivalent 2012 the rumors were confirmed; the Wraith had been dying by the thousands for several years from an unknown disease. It had close to 100 fatality, and was airborne. The remaining Wraith had segregated themselves, hoping to avoid contamination. Due to the long incubation period of the disease there was little hope that the species as a whole would survive with a functional genetic base for long term survival.

**The Changed**

A single Hive Ship, commanded by a queen who had heard about the "Michael" Experiment (An attempt to revert a Wraith to its human genetic origins by application of a retrovirus), approached Atlantis and requested sanctuary and the application of the experimental retrovirus.

Atlantis agreed to grant the request of the queen, but imposed severe restrictions upon those who underwent treatment. After 24 months, the treatment regimen was concluded. After eight more years had passed, the restrictions were loosened and the Wraithborn were allowed to integrate fully into the 'Lantean population.

It should be noted that out of the 2,000 Wraith who underwent 'The Change', less than 2 percent suffered either a reversion or a fatal reaction. The rest integrated successfully, most taking positions in the internet and computer networking technology fields. At this time, there is no conclusive data regarding potential inter-breeding of Wraithborn and natural-born humans.


End file.
